A remarkably cohesive and concise look at friendship, memory and the passing of time, Mike Leigh's beautifully told film explores these themes in such an effective manner that it is hard to believe so much can be said in a mere 80 minutes. It makes most American films seem flabby and overly tedious.Two outstanding performances lay at the center of this story as we are taken into the lives both past and present of Hannah and Annie, college roommates reunited for a weekend. This perfectly ordinary setup is fodder for Leigh to work his magic in dissecting, this time via multiple flashbacks, how these two came to rely so heavily on one another as well as the long-term effects of their relationship as it weathers various problems, especially men.Ultimately, here Leigh has crafted a portrait of friendship and loyalty so alarmingly realistic and straightforward that it may come across as too contrived or preposterous for some. Indeed, there are several huge coincidences that must take place in order for the necessary conclusion. However, these never come across as overtly nice and neat and the end result indeed justifies everything that has come before it. Regardless of whatever they encounter, Hannah and Annie will remain as close as they can. After all, without each other who would they have and who else do they need?

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.

two old friends meet up and reminisce about their student years living above a chinese take away, whilst coincidence plays fast and loose with the trip. kaitlin is a complete star (as usual) playing hannah with fantastic gusto.

Apart from being the only famous person I've ever seen in Kebab Delite in Wood Green, Mike Leigh is probably the most consistently brilliant film director of the modern era. "Career Girls" has attracted less critical praise than some of his other films, possibly because audiences found the way the characters accidentally ran across each other a bit contrived. Well, forget all that. The strength of this extraordinarily moving film is that, though the characters are deliberately slightly exaggerated, they are essentially incredibly true to life, in a way that Hollywood couldn't even begin to understand. Having been at college myself during (roughly) the period shown in the film I can testify that it is packed with eerily accurate details (e.g. wearing swimming goggles when cooking, Robert de Niro poster on wall etc.). A high-ranker in a canon composed more or less entirely of classics.