Career Girls (1997)

Having caught a glimpse of Leigh's "High Hopes" on television a few years back, I remember how the simplistic, unpretentious, subtle hilariousness and dramatic realism stuck with me. I then caught "All or Nothing" on IFC and immediately noticed the similarities in style between these two films. Then I rented "Career Girls" and so far Mike Leigh is 3 for 3 with me. I intend to watch all of his films. These movies are not for the easily distracted as they tend to move at a very slow pace and plots are not the main focus of the filmaking. However, the characters are all wonderfully portrayed and the acting is remarkable. Career Girls is no exception. Often hilarious, this movie also touches the heartstrings but in a very careful manner. (Unlike Love Actually, a British film that is as contrived as it is sickeningly patronizing in it's presumption that anyone would find it remotely watchable). I look forward to watching Leigh's "Secrets and Lies" next!9 out of 10

By the time he made this film Mike Leigh had done this sort of thing so many times before( with often great results) that it must have been getting a little old for him. It's no surprise he made the ambitious, totally atypical "Topsy Tervy" next. It has it's small pleasures, but look for "High Hopes" "Grown-Ups" "Life Is Sweet" and others for the right stuff.

As a life-long Mike Leigh fan, I first saw CAREER GIRLS on its cinema release a couple of years ago. No, it didn't make quite the same impact as (for example) NAKED or SECRETS AND LIES, but nonetheless it does boast impressive and detailed performances from its lead actors. Katrin Cartlidge's work was always intense and magnetic (I was lucky enough to see her on stage in Theatre de Complicite's MNEMONIC in 1998) - and her recent, tragic death from septicaemia in September 2002, aged 41, was a desperately sad loss to top-notch acting and independent film making.

For one of Britain's most acclaimed film-makers, you'd think Mike Leigh had been directing movies for most of his life. However, while many of today's young movie-makers are thrown into the deep end with huge projects, Leigh honed his craft with a much cheaper alternative. He mastered the one-off play with Nuts in May and Abigail's Party, attracting a cult following, while the TV movie, Meantime, turned Gary Oldman and Tim Roth into two of the hottest British actors of their generation. By 1988, Leigh had written and directed one movie, Bleak Moments (1971), 19 plays and 11 TV films before returning to the big screen. High Hopes marked the beginning of Leigh's most successful vocation and was followed a few years later by Life is Sweet. In 1993, Leigh delivered arguably his greatest film to date. Naked was a bleak, funny tale of Johnny (David Thewlis), an intelligent Mancunian drifter who travels to London and pours vitriol onto everyone he meets. Bursting with witty dialogue, it proved to be one of the most controversial and stunning films of the Nineties which turned Thewlis into one of the most sought after actors on earth. Mike followed it up with the critical smash Secrets and Lies (1995) and the critically mauled Career Girls (1997).This was torn apart by some critics - most notably Tony Parsons on the defunct BBC2 strand Late Review - who were annoyed by the OTT character traits of its stars. Nevertheless, even a bad Leigh movie is worth a look, and this has the added bonus of starring Katrin Cartlidge from Naked. It centres on two successful professional women who recall the youthful insecurities of their student days and how they gradually blossomed into self-assured professionals. If you can get past the constant twitching of its main stars during the first few minutes, then this is a highly absorbing drama with a likeable cast. The Mockney accent of Katrin makes her highly irritating while the overweight student, Richard Burton, tries to outdo both girls in the twitching department.Despite the character 'traits', Lynda Steadman, Mark Benton, Kate Byers and Andy Serkis are all fine while the ending is suitably bleak.Not classic Leigh, but still worth a look.