Career Girls

1997

Action / Comedy / Drama

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 78% · 24 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 78% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 6665 6.7K

london, england college female friendship reunion old friends reunited friends

Plot summary

A young college student in London moves into a flat and becomes best friends with a flatmate; the former moves into her own flat 4 years later but 6 years after their parting, the former returns to London to pay the latter a visit.

Director

Mike Leigh Photo
Mike Leigh

Top cast

Goran Kostic Photo
Goran Kostic as Student
Andy Serkis Photo
Andy Serkis as Mr. Evans
Joe Tucker Photo
Joe Tucker as Adrian
Katrin Cartlidge Photo
Katrin Cartlidge as Hannah
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
796.22 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds ...
1.44 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ian_harris 8 / 10

Absorbing and Moving

Yes, this film has been panned by many, but in my view Mike Leigh was near top form again with this absorbing and moving film. The late, great Katrin Cartlidge puts in an excellent performance. Dreadfully sorry to learn that such a talented young stage and screen actress has died. Lynda Steadman is also superb.The film is partly in flashback to college days in the 1980s and partly set in the "present" of the 1990s. I see the exaggerated twitching and accents of the characters in the 1980s scenes as part of the flashback genre. Perhaps I went to University with exceptionally twitchy people, or perhaps the memory pitches college-days memories at 30 frames-per-second, but my own "flashbacks" to such times feel a bit like that. I thought it was intriguing cinematography, but the majority seems to be against me.Where the film does grate a little is in the coincidences that lead them to run in to their past several times. Two of the coincidences are necessary for the plot and interest. One seems like "a coincidence too many" and it goes nowhere - maybe there was an intended plot thread that got dropped - well the coincidence should also have been dropped in that case.It's a short film and it held our attention from start to finish. Not Mike Leigh's very best film, but well worth seeing.
Reviewed by PayOrPlay 7 / 10

One of Mike Leigh's more easy-going efforts

This is one of Mike Leigh's more easy-going efforts, overall, a bit mannered, sort of an urban picaresque, "Naked"-lite if you will. When I saw it on initial release, I liked it fine, but thought it would be memorable mainly for particular bits--the very funny scene with the obnoxious yuppie flat owner, the very powerful scenes with Mark Benton as Ricky--rather than for any coherence. I saw it again this week and it is sticking in my mind with more impact than before; to me it now resonates as a meditation on the need to get on with one's life, and the costs (in friendship, soulfulness, caring) of doing so, and the tragedy of those who just can't make the jump. Not one of Leigh's greatest films, but like everything he's made, well worth the time.
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