A woman goes to visit her roommate from college for a weekend. While there, the pair run into other people they knew from that time period.
This was amazing. The plot started off really slow and barely made any sense. I didn't even connect who the characters were at first. As the film progresses, everything comes together. The characters develop back-story through flashbacks and the plot takes form. That is not an easy task. The video was done in different styles for the past and present. The past was darker, with less contrast and saturation. The present was bright, clear and "new movie too perfect". The audio was a little odd for me. Because of the British accents and use of regional slang, I didn't understand everything that was being said. It didn't seem like a worthwhile film at first, but by the end I really liked it. Overall, brilliant. I rate this awesome.
Career Girls (1997)
ReplyDeleteMike Leigh's followup to Secrets&Lies (1996) is a softer and slightly less convincing comedy-drama about friendship, class and remembering the past. There are some touching moments but Leigh's trademark dysfunctional personalities and grungy-kitchensink interiors seems to distract from drama, which itself feels abit too melodramatic in this instance.
Two troubled women form an unlikely 'odd-couple' friendship during college and then meet six after graduating as professionals enjoying their careers. They hang out over a weekend and revisit some of their old haunts whilst having some awkward chance run-ins with old boyfriends. There's not really a plot, simply a juxtaposition between scenes from the past and present with no real point except to allow the characters to reflect and empowerment through their success.
However, similar nostalgic films about adulthood and friendship such as Ghostworld, Metropolitan and Ladybird felt alot more entertaining, although generally the performances and 80s setting were well-crafted, if a little over the top at times. I think fans of Leigh's earlier films such as Naked, Life is Sweet and Secrets&Lies will probably scratch their heads at Leigh's change in direction
Thank you for posting the first "real" comment on my blog. It has only taken about 9 years for this to happen. I'm pretty sure that I posted about all of the other Mike Leigh films and you may find Ghostworld on here too.
Delete