the leading man is my tpye

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

An absolute waste of money

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I re-saw this film last night, and enjoyed it as never before. It's simple premise of two women who, having shared a (partly thanks to them) squalid flat while attending "uni" and reuniting six years later in London for a weekend showed life as lived by many. The dialogue worked, and even their coincidental meetings with Anna's former brief love (who doesn't remember her) and the sad young Welshman (Mark Benton), suffering from Tourrette's and who briefly lived with them, is not fanciful: even London's a small world. When the two part at the train station, one feels their friendship will continue: they can relate to and confide in each other as they can't with anyone else.

Never thought that there could be a Mike Leigh movie that I wouldn't like. But this is one. The thing with Leigh's movies is that the stories are for the biggest part just ordinary people in their ordinary everyday life. And it are the characters that almost make you feel like you are watching a documentary, that make them so special. This story is again a story with nothing much interesting. Two roommates that meet again. Half of the time in real life and the other in sort of flashbacks. But this time the acting is so very much overdone, that it is almost like I'm watching an American comedy, with just the fake laughs in the background missing. Apart from an occasional laugh, I watched it till the end as if I was sitting in the chair at my dentist. Just for old time Mike Leigh's sake.

Before you watch a Mike leigh Film you must first forget you ever saw a Hollywood Movie. the only thing they share is celluloid. Career girls takes place in a world so far from hollywood that its as different from it as a book is from a Play. Its hard to credit the acting in it as the people seem so incredibly real and yes it may appear dull and overly realistic for peroids but Mike Leigh never fails to hit the mark in what are usually quite short films. Sometimes the position of the mark is up to the viewer to decide but one thing is certain is these people will have to get up tomorrow cause lifes issues cannot be solved in a 90 minute segment. their direction may be a bit clearer of if it was clear it may be more confused. if nothing else as a man in my mid thirties it made me think of some of the people that flitted in and out of my life at various time through college different jobs and so on. and yes i could relate to the Rick figure , not every one will turn out all right. every 'Bum' on the street has had a past life and many of them very different to how you now see them Life can sucks but there is always hope and there no one better than Mike leigh to show that

Throughly enjoyed this movie.Katrin Cartlidge and Linda Steadman are wonderful. The person who played Ricky, Mark Benton, gave a very powerful performance.Thoroughly recommended for people who like gritty human drama.Only downside was the unbelievable co-incidences of bumping into people from their past all in one day in London. It is a mighty big city.