CAREER GIRLS. Mike Leigh’s great little film

In 1996, Mike Leigh triumphed with Secrets & Lies, winning the Palme d’Or in Cannes, two BAFTAs, the Independent Spirit Award, and earning five Oscar nominations (though none translated into a win). A year later, he quietly made another film that remains in the shadow of his better-known works such as Naked, Life Is Sweet, and Happy-Go-Lucky. Career Girls continues to be the dark horse of the British director’s filmography.

After six years apart, Annie travels to London to visit Hannah. During their university days, the women shared a flat. Their reunion becomes an occasion for memories, but also for reckonings. Annie, a shy psychology student suffering from skin problems and nervous tics, was unhappily in love while rejecting the affection of eccentric Ricky. Hannah, who studied English literature, masked her sensitivity with aggression and hyperactivity. Their friendship was once nearly destroyed by Adrian, and during their strolls through the city they unexpectedly encounter all the important figures from their past.

On the surface, little seems to happen: the heroines reminisce about old times, wonder about former acquaintances, and slip into flashbacks. Gradually, the viewer pieces together fragments of Annie’s and Hannah’s lives. They differ in temperament but are both perceptive, intelligent, and well-read. One comes from a broken family, the other still lives with her mother. Despite outward professional success, both are lonely and not entirely happy. Dreaming of stability and romance, they find only disappointing men: an overweight paranoid stutterer, an indecisive boy, and a lecherous chatterbox (played by Andy Serkis shortly before his Lord of the Rings breakthrough).

The film is funny and heartwarming, though it could easily have been dreary and sad. There is no despair, no pathos, no grand tragedy—only small dramas and the “quiet desperation” David Gilmour of Pink Floyd once called the English way of life. England itself is depicted with striking realism: shabby pubs, cramped flats, stiff manners, emotional coldness, and sharp humor. This sense of naturalism is reinforced by dimly lit interiors, minimalist sets, flowing dialogue, and excellent acting. Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman create living, breathing characters rather than simply performing roles.

“Ordinary people are interesting enough as they are and don’t need any embellishment,” Leigh once said. He portrays Annie and Hannah with warmth, empathy, and sincerity. He does not idealize or judge them, nor does he impose diagnoses. It feels as though Leigh truly loves and understands women—at least as much as a man can. He is a classic feminist in the original sense of the word, before the movement turned into a caricature of itself and began to promote ideas like hosting a music festival that banned men from entering (the Statement Festival in Sweden).

The story begins and ends at a train station. Instead of a happy ending, Leigh offers an open, ambiguous, and ironic conclusion. That is real life, where neat resolutions and happy outcomes are rare. This bittersweet, humorous, and poignant film speaks of friendship, acceptance, illusions, and the passage of time, but also of the value of companionship. These are universal truths, understood everywhere, regardless of gender, race, or faith. Leigh conveys them with lightness, humor, and sincerity—a great art in itself. Career Girls is, simply, a great little film.

There is yet another reason to see this modest, intimate work: its soundtrack, made up of songs by The Cure, adored by Annie and Hannah. And as we all know, The Cure is the best band in the world—right alongside Coil and Psychic TV.