MovieChat Forums > Career Girls (1997) Discussion > Brillant film

Brillant film

posted 18 years ago by chesters9
14 replies | jump to latest

Loved this film from start to end. The two main stars were brillant. The direction from college days to present life was beautiful. When they come across their old friends. The scene when two main stars are going home and vist their old place. There is their old friend sitting down their his beloved chinese chippy. Closed and empty he wants so much to remember the good times. Bitterness has got hold of him. The 2 ladies have moved on but he has got worst.Not many films made like this i loved it so much.

[–] xander2323 18 years ago

I agree this is a really special film in so many ways. I just wanted to say I think the summary on the main page is absolutely brilliant, superbly written and sums up everything I feel about this film. I wish to add nothing, only that the person who wrote this is a great writer and I like them

alex

[–] ecmk_1 18 years ago

I love 'Career Girls'! So true to life isn't it? Very observant. It stays with you long after you've watched it. One of the best!

[–] Cremasterfan 18 years ago

Completely agree, great film.

www.myHiddenPlace.co.uk

[–] perorewen 16 years ago

Three words: I love it!

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They blew up Congress!!!

[–] iluvlfc 16 years ago

Beautifully acted, full of longing for days past and a belief that things will get better if you hang on long enough. If you've ever been to university you should watch this and let it bring those squalid house-sharing memories back.

[–] trevorwomble 16 years ago

This film is unerringly accurate in so many ways and cleverly shows university/college years as being both the best of times and the worst of times. It also wonderfully shows how people have a habit of bumping into each other years later, something that actually happened to me 7 years after i left college and in a completely different city (and like in the film, it wasn't necessarily for the better). The cast are uniformly excellent although i found some of the exaggerated mannerisms of the girls a little hard to swallow. However Mark Benton is spot on with his character of Ricky and i suspect that anybody who went into higher education can remember somebody not unlike him in their cohort (there always seems to be someone way out of their depth who struggles on the course before giving up and disappearing). I think the air of elitism and naivety that the girls have is also accurate as i can remember people like that too. And the way the characters don't fall into the job of their dreams is also refreshingly honest and reflects the stark reality of getting a degree for many students (making you wonder if it was really worthwhile).

As you can probably gather i have found an almost 'universal truth' in this film, making it a very good general observation. The way the film is broken between the 'now' and the 'college' days is helped by the excellent use of lighting and the music on the soundtrack. On the whole i thoroughly enjoyed this film as it was a scenario i could very much relate to having lived through some of it myself. As an afterthought it is such a shame that the beautiful and talented Katrin Cartlidge tragically died, thereby robbing British cinema of one of its most reliable actresses.

[–] perorewen 16 years ago

That was a very nice post Trevor.

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They blew up Congress!!! HAHAHA!

[–] thirtymiles 16 years ago

I second this opinion! Great post... pretty much sums up my POV as well!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] GuyOnTheLeft 12 years ago

Agreed. I have seen most of Leigh's films and love almost all of them (even odd ones like "Nuts in May"); but this really is an underrated member of his relatively recent oeuvre. You might be right about the title; also, it's a more intimate character study than some of his others. I also think the music wasn't quite right in some cases, and the cinematography is a little drab. But oh, the acting, the vividly portrayed characters, are enough to make this a supernova nonetheless.

[–] Oakface 11 years ago

Same here. I think I've seen it at least 10 times. Being an awkward, lonely fellow myself, I really connected with these characters, and at some points dearly wished that I could've been in that flat with them.

Bittersweet all the way through, so *beep* beautiful, and true - sometimes all we got, I think, is the time we have with each other when we have it in its raw spontaneity, and we can't force ourselves back together once parted.

Even while Annie was visiting Hannah, there were moments were it was as though they couldn't rekindle that connection they had. There was awkwardness between them, formality at times. Not always, though. I can appreciate that sort of distance two people might put between one another, afraid each other's strong feelings of friendship aren't reciprocated exactly.

And the ending - it struck the strongest nerve with me. "I'll come visit you again soon" - that line, I must've said it to a dozen people in my life in a dozen different ways. I don't know if we're meant to read into this good-by, but it feels like they both understand these are just words - this is a Good-by, not a see you later.

I'll always remember the way Hannah turns back a couple of times as she shuffles away.

this movie touched my heart

[–] jname96 11 years ago

Oakface, I totally agree.

This movie was "brilliant" in capturing regular, everyday people's relationships--which, like most things in life, happen by pure circumstance and chance (like answering a roommate ad).

I agree: all we have in life are those wonderful moments of joy or at least some comfort, in the company of others. We are social animals to the core, even the least "Social" of us :)

[–] sirjeremy 11 years ago

It's still my favourite Mike Leigh film, brimming with truth, and one that resonates with me deeply. It captures a snapshot of student life so well, as well as the tentative, nerve-wracking reunion between two old uni friends who haven't seen each other for a while. I also appreciated the acknowledgement from Leigh about how difficult it can be to move on from some things from the past. Love the performances and music, too. No wonder Mike Leigh says he has people coming up to him saying how much they love it, more than any of his other films.

[–] jname96 11 years ago

Cool, I do think this is Leigh's most intimate film, in many ways. It really zeroes in on just two people, which makes it very specific.