Dir.: Mike Leigh; Script: Mike Leigh; Phot.: Dick Pope; Ed.: Robin Sales; Mus.: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Tony Remy; Cast: Katrin Cartlidge, Lynda Steadman, Kate Byers, Mark Benton, Andy Serkis, Joe Tucker, Margo Stanley, Michael Healy; Prod.: Simon Channing-Williams, Thin Man Productions; Sales: Ciby Sales, 10 Stephen Mews, Londres W1P 1PP (Grande-Bretagne), tél.: (171) 333 88 77, fax: (171) 333 88 78 ;Dist.: Alliance.

Annie and Hannah are two 30-year-old university misfits-turned working women who were once the best of pals. Hannah arrives in London for a visit with her former flatmate, time to catch up on old stories and new gossip. In her day, Hannah was a high-strung, short-tempered rebel, sharp-witted but not always easy to get along with. Shy, vulnerable Annie had her own problems, mainly deriving from a face-disfiguring skin rash. Hannah has matured. She's now the smartly-dressed professional and her caustic wit has evolved into an nicely ironic view of the world. Annie, too, has progressed. Her physical handicaps are gone and so are most of the associated hangups. There are no men in either of their lives but an apartment-hunting trip turns up a couple of unsuitable aspirants and revives a sorry episode when Hannah lost a boyfriend to Annie. The past keeps coming back at once to haunt the women and to demonstrate the true depth of their friendship. "Leigh's sense of reality is so acute that it's impossible to stay aloof for long. CAREER GIRLS doesn't feel constructed so much as, literally, observed; as though he's simply hidden a camera in someone's flat and captured life as it is. This sharp-edged realism is almost shocking in its refusal of sentiment, and, ironically, deeply affecting." -- Critical Mass