Career Girls - The Bridge Between Then and Now

Career Girls (1997), directed and written by Mike Leigh, is one of the best examples of Leigh’s signature works. The story revolves around two former college roommates, Annie (Lynda Steadman) and Hannah (Katrin Cartlidge), who reunite after 6 years, trying to revive their friendship and confronting their past.

As we see in Leigh’s earlier works, especially in Secrets & Lies (1996), there is often a connection between the characters’ past and their present. In an interview Leigh says that we, humans, are changing and developing more of our character between our 20s to 30s rather than our 30s to 40s. It is that period of life he thinks that is more significant. Even after our teenage years, we still try to establish our character and overcome our traumas. However, we can’t always be where we want to be in life. No matter how much Annie and Hannah seem to be a better version of themselves, there are still old memories from their past that are itching.

Leigh uses flashbacks despite his other films in which characters’ pasts were revealed through dialogues or breakdowns. In their college years, Annie, who is very taut and has a skin condition because of her nerves, and Hannah, who is cooler but aggressive and easily annoyed, both portrayed neurotic and “unattractive” so-to-say. They turned out to be “better” after 6 years, as we see Annie is a relatively more relaxed person, and Hannah who has a future-promising job. Still, over the course of the film, the audience faces the unsolved conflicts between these two women.

We can also easily sense the time lapse between the flashbacks and the present time by the different ambients that Leigh used. In characters’ student years; the lighting is darker, narrower, and more claustrophobic places with more framing are preferred compared to present time’s setting. I think it emphasizes the mentality of Annie and Hannah as young college students in England and their aspects of the future. It is a just interpretation of England’s society’s psychology because it can perfectly arouse emotions in the audience like pity, pessimism and even humor.

Overall, Leigh distinguishes himself with his unique style, different camera techniques, and his depiction of England’s middle class by using consistent cinematographic choices. Especially the marginality he built in the characters ( my favorite: Ricky Burton who is an awkward stutterer, and always closes his eyes when he is talking) is one of the main reasons for Leigh’s works to stand out.