Fish Tank (2009) User Reviews

Bitingly realistic, discomforting and hauntingly beautiful

[benca · 8/10 · 21 February 2011]

Fish Tank hits you deep and hard, in the soul. It drew me in to its world without me hardly noticing it - a world of ultra-realism, burnished, you must say, by some quite incredible performances from Katie Jarvis and the rest of the cast.

One night of disturbed sleep after watching it and I am still in their world, out on the bleak and beautiful flatlands bordering Essex and London which so many people speed through every day as they journey between London and mainland Europe on the Eurostar trains. I myself have taken that journey a few times and wondered what the people's lives were like who lived in this strange landscape where London has parked so much of the stuff that it doesn't want to see - the giant container terminals, the power plants and the chemical works.

Fish Tank perhaps gives a taste of those lives, but it does much more than that. Especially it gives us a heroine who we can't help caring for deeply, despite and partly because she is on the outside so nasty, rude and violent. Through some of the things she gets up to as she wonders around we see a natural love of life bursting to get out though. We also have an attractive and kind man come into the picture who, through his natural goodness, offers an outlet for her yearnings for understanding, fun, and intimacy.

The story starts off slowly as we get to know 15-year old Mia, her family and the wider (and very limited) world around her. But it picks up and becomes tautly gripping at times - and it never slips into sentimentality or offers false redemption. It is all the better for that.

She's 16. It's her time.

[LunarPoise · 7/10 · 18 August 2010]

Sixteen is not a good age for horses. And fifteen is proving equally difficult for Mia. Fifteen going on 50, Mia lives an isolated, disaffected life. A school drop-out, labelled weird and smelly by her peers, she is neglected by her single-parent mother and converses at a bawl with her younger sister, who is 8 going on 40. Mia haunts the high-rise she calls home, sneaking alcohol and ciggies where she can get them. Her only pleasure is dance, which she practices solo in an upstairs derelict flat. Something has to change, and the catalyst proves to be Mum's new boyfriend. Both creepy and charming in the manner of David from An Education, the boyfriend seems to take Mia seriously. Perhaps too seriously.

Fassbender excels as the charismatic interloper. He is always the smartest - and best-looking - guy in the room, without rubbing your nose in it. When he does lose control, we unfortunately cannot view his reaction because he is only seen in silhouette. Having seen him in Hunger and Inglorious Basterds, he clearly has chameleon-like abilities.

The film moves along a tad too slowly, teasing out the will-they-won't-they relationship between Mia and the boyfriend. Once that is resolved the pace becomes frantic, and the consequences that follow are harrowing.

The British underclass seems to be Arnold's setting of choice. I am not convinced she is at home here, or even that she has spent much time amongst the people she loves to represent on screen. Mia's younger sister, especially, seems archetypical - a can of beer in one hand, a ciggie in the other, expletives falling freely from her mouth, she does not seem to be anything other than a Daily Mail reader's portrait of Britain's feral kids. Mia, also, seems to spend 24/7 in a rage. A more tempered view, even a spot of gallows's humour, would make this arena more believable. There is a bit of a sneer here from the writer-director that is distasteful. I am also sceptical about the Katie Jarvis hype - she does well, but there is nothing in the role to suggest a trained actress could not have handled it. Of course, casting a trained actress would not have generated so much press as the fighting-with-her-boyfriend-at-the-platform story....

All that is forgiven, however, for one sequence that is among the most viscerally compelling I have ever seen on screen. It takes place when Mia is at her lowest ebb, and decides on an action that is less than half-thought out. It is completely understandable given all that has gone before, but connotes Jamie Bulger, Soham, and a host of other unspeakable acts from the cultural memory. Shot verite style, raw and unforgiving, the sequence is a masterclass in how to put an audience through an emotional wringer. The building rhythm of a little girl going up and down on a scooter. A ferocious splash in the ocean. An eternity before re-surfacing. Even the memory of it has me sweating from the palms. Brave, sublime filmmaking.

There are other small moments - three generations of women dancing, a horse spied from a road - that suggest a mature, accomplished style is evolving in Arnold. Wasp was well-executed. Red Road I just found incredulous. Fish Tank has subtlety and bombast, not always in the right mix, but courageously attempted. I will come back to Arnold. Hopefully, one day she will turn her scorn on the tax-dodging upper class who are equally Britain's trial and shame.

Bleak and Harsh

[Chirpy_Chaffinch · 8/10 · 30 October 2009]

At first I wasn't sure what to make of this movie. Having watched "Red Road" by Andrea Arnold, I needed to watch Fishtank. It wasn't quite as good as Red Road but somehow it had something that mesmerised me. The movie tells of a 15 year old girl living in a rather socially deprived area of Britain who is passionate about dancing. Her mother is a drunk and brings home a new boyfriend one day.

Right from the start there are scenes that are hard to take. These scenes felt quite real for me, maybe thanks to the Director or the acting. There is not much of a storyline other than that the girl gets involved with her mother's boyfriend and everything gets even worse after that.

I thought that Michael Fassbender's performance was brilliant. He seems to be star in the making.

This movie makes difficult watching because of the harshness of the lives that are depicted here.

Impacting, gritty and very well made even if it is a little bit longer than the material can bear

[bob the moo · 20 February 2010]

Considering how much positive word of mouth it got, Fish Tank came and went pretty sharpish in most cinemas – even those in a larger city such as where I live. This was a shame as it meant I had to keep an eye out to eventually catch the film. Set on a council estate things are typically grim and within the first few minutes of the film we are treated to sudden violence and extreme language – all seemingly par for the course rather than being something special that we are witnessing. In this world lives Mia, a 15 year old who lives with a younger sister and a mother who appears to be not much older than her. She gets in fights and practises dancing by herself in an abandoned flat near her own. Her life appears to change for the better when her mother gets a new boyfriend who is friendly, good fun and is not put off by the sudden aggression that is the signature of life in the family home.

Writer/director Arnold quite impressed me with Wasp a few years ago and she stayed in my memory thanks partly to her shabby treatment at the Oscars (where, as the winner of her category, she had to receive the award in the aisle and do her speech from there – no stage for her), however Fish Tank she stays in my mind on the basis of her film-making ability. Fish Tank is not a perfect film but there is a lot to praise it for. Social-realism is nothing new but Arnold really hits the nail on the head from the start and delivers a simple slice of life that is played in the silences as much as it is in dialogue. There is a downside to this and it is one that most viewers will struggle to ignore – the running time. At two hours the film is just about 20 minutes or so longer than it can bear and, in all the silences, there are frequent areas that feel like dips.

This is a minor thing though because the silences depend on the quality of the direction and of the performances – both of which are excellent. Arnold's use of the camera is great – not only in terms of framing shots but also in terms of movement as this is not a static one shot type of film. The best example of what I mean can be seen in the scene where Mia shows off her dancing for Connor, the camera is close to convey the small room to the audience but it is also delivered with such tension that you can feel what is happening as much as dread it happening. Of course the performances are key in making this type of thing work and everyone is great. In particular Jarvis is brilliantly convincing – most people can do the accent and the swagger but she captures the heart of the character, letting the viewer see it even while keeping it below layer after layer of defence mechanism. She is by far the star of the film and she makes it look easy. Wareing, Fassbender and a few others are all good in support but it is always support.

The plot of the film is slight in a way but at the same time with the direction and the performances as good as they are there is always something going on and, as much as I would have liked it a little shorter, I would be at a loss to say what to cut out to make it that way. Fish Tank ends up as a very engaging and gritty drama thanks to Arnold's direction and Jarvis' very strong performance, it mostly avoids cliché and predictable plotting and the cold grey atmosphere of the whole film makes for a distinctive product. A great British film and very well worth seeing – how BAFTA managed to miss Arnold and Jarvis this year is a mystery to me.

Take a fishing trip

[C-Younkin · 7/10 · 13 January 2010]

Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank" was a big hit in Britain and at Cannes and now tries its hand at America, who will probably nickname it "White Precious." Anchored by a star-making performance from Kate Jarvis, Arnold's film is more grit and zero melodrama, a step-up from the weepy style of "Precious." Jarvis plays Mia, a teenager living in the ghetto where kids expect to follow in the option-less footsteps of their parents. Her little sister (Rebecca Griffiths) is already smoking and emulating skanks on MTV and mom (Kierston Wareing) is a drunk throwing parties with very sketchy friends. Mia has a dream of becoming a dancer and she finds encouragement from mom's new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender), a hunky security guard who seems like a nice guy but is, at times, "too friendly." It's familiar other-side-of-the tracks territory but it doesn't spend time wallowing in misfortune. Arnold's film is harsh, and with its use of language (the C and F words are used a lot), dead-end scenery, breathless sexual and violent encounters, and Jarvis' award-worthy portrayal, it's nothing short of compelling. It's a brave performance, a rough-fighter exterior masking youthful vulnerabilities. Fassbender also impresses as a charming/shady character that you're never quite sure has a sexual or fatherly preference toward Mia. It all comes down to a predictable yet scary ending where neglect turns dangerous.

Right out of the water

[Chris_Docker · 9/10 · 29 June 2009]

"All my films have started with an image," says director Andrea Arnold. "It's usually quite a strong image and it seems to come from nowhere. I don't understand the image at first or what it means, but I want to know more about it so I start exploring it, try and understand it and what it means. This is how I always start writing." What does the image of a fish tank conjure up for you? On the inside longing to look out, is fifteen-year-old Mia. Trapped in a housing estate. Trapped in a single parent family. Trapped by people around her she can't respect. Trapped in herself. For being fifteen. She has her own inner world, fighting to manifest itself . Fortified by cigarettes and alcohol she can kick in the door of the empty nearby flat. A bare floor. Her CD player. Practice her moves. A better dancer than those kids on the block she just nutted.

Mia is quite content to carve out her own double life, f*ck you very much! Never mind she gets caught and nearly comes to grief trying to steal a horse. And social workers don't scare her. But mom's new boyfriend – that could be a pain! A real spanner in the works. Especially when he's so annoyingly nice.

Under Andrea Arnold's hand, life on this inner city concrete backwater is suddenly very alive. Banalities become beautiful. Like sunlight through cracked glass. Vibrant, gritty and riveting, but in a way that entertains powerfully. As pulsating and funny as Trainspotting but without the yuck factor. Its momentum is overpowering. We never know what is going to come out of Mia's mouth or where events will lead. Each jaw-dropping new scene surprises yet seems the result of inexorable momentum. As if that wasn't enough, the story mercifully avoids kitchen-sink drama, excessive violence, drugs, getting pregnant, grand larceny, car crashes and all the other cliché-ridden devices to which cinema-goers are usually subjected. Tightly controlled, Fish Tank attacks with a potent and thought-provoking arsenal of story-telling.

Andrea Arnold proved she could do hard-hitting realism with her award-winning debut, Red Road. Here she excels her earlier efforts but still imbibes many of the verité approaches and senses of discipline that have filtered down from the Dogme and Advance Party movements. Her 'strong initial image,' or lack of subservience to more traditional methodology, maybe reminds of the devotion to experimental, avant-garde cinema taken by artists-turned-filmmakers such as Steve McQueen (Hunger) or theme-over-story technicians such as Duane Hopkins (Better Things). Michael Fassbender, who took reality to new heights as Bobby Sands in Hunger, here plays the mystifying and warmly charismatic Connor (Mum's boyfriend).

Arnold didn't allow actors to read the script beforehand. They were given their scenes only a few days before filming. For the part of Mia, she chooses a complete unknown with zero experience. Arnold spotted Katie Jarvis at a train station after drawing a blank with casting agencies. "She was on one platform arguing with her boyfriend on another platform, giving him grief." However the performance is achieved, Jarvis is electrifying. If Arnold wanted a 'real' person for the role, this seventeen-year-old takes over the screen with raw adolescent power. Says Arnold, "I wanted a girl who would not have to act, could just be herself." Fish Tank will lift you out of your seat and on an unstoppable flight, ricocheting against confines of circumstance and imploding a dysfunctional family with its head of hormonal steam. Laugh, cry, hold on tight. You will need to. I could almost taste the vodka, as Mia goes through her Mum's dressing table drawers, bottle in hand. I wish all British films were this good.

Powerful

[briancham1994 · 7/10 · 2 June 2020]

The best part of this film was the acting. The characters all felt quite genuine. It is a good portrayal of a troubled life and has emotional depth.

An exhilarating dance of liberation

[howard.schumann · 10/10 · 28 March 2010]

The poet Rumi said, "A rose's rarest essence lives in the thorn." The thorn is in full evidence in Andrea Arnold's compellingly honest second feature Fish Tank, the story of a fifteen year-old girl's struggle for self respect after having "grown up absurd" in the London projects. Fish Tank, a film that is overflowing with life, works on many levels – as a look into squalid economic and social conditions in small town Britain, as a warning to those who act impulsively and without self-control, and as a coming-of-age story that allows us to experience a genuine sense of character growth. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the film features an astounding performance from first-time actress Katie Jarvis, a 17-year-old who was discovered by the director while having an argument with her boyfriend on an Essex train station platform.

Set in a bleak housing project in a working class London suburb, fifteen-year-old Mia is an angry, isolated but vulnerable teen who lives with her boozy mom (Koerston Wareing) and little sister Tyler (an adorable Rebecca Griffiths). Mia has no friends and is dogged by a mean-spirited mother who makes Mo'Nique in Precious look like Mother Teresa. Filled with barely controlled rage, Mia seems uncertain as to whether she is looking for a fight or for sex. She goes from head-butting a rival on the playground to struggling to free a half-starved horse tied up in a junkyard while cozying up to the horse's owner Billy (Harry Treadway), a gentle 19-year-old who seems genuinely interested.

Dreaming of becoming a dancer, Mia breaks into an abandoned apartment and practices her hip-hop dance routines alone to borrowed CDs of pop music including California Dreaming, the only time when she can feel good about herself. Mia's first taste of something resembling kindness happens when her mother brings home a sexy, shirtless Irish lover named Connor (Michael Fassbender) who works as a security guard Fassbender's performance oscillates between the charming and the shady and we do not know who is real and who is pretend and where it will lead. Mia has more than a passing interest in him, revealed by her deep glances and facial expressions.

When Connor lends Mia his camera to film her dancing in preparation for an audition, she uses it to spy on Connor and her mom making love. One of the loveliest scenes is when Connor carries a drunken Mia from the living room and puts her to bed, gently taking off her clothes while Mia, pretending to be asleep, sneaks an occasional peak and is obviously enjoying the moment. Although Connor's interest in Mia appears innocent, from the time Mia cuts her foot on a family fishing trip and Connor gives her a piggy back ride to the car, tension gradually builds until it explodes in a seduction that is not only inappropriate but has serious consequences.

Fish Tank is a strong and unpredictable film because Mia is a strong (though flawed) character who refuses to allow her miserable circumstances to control her life. Arnold uses the fierce slang of the streets, overt sexual encounters, and gritty hand-held camera-work to tell an authentic story of adolescence that in lesser hands might have recycled genre clichés, provided a falsely uplifting message, or offered a sentimentalized view of poverty. That the film opens the door long enough to provide a breath of fresh air once again tells us that life can be governed by what is possible rather than what is reasonable and Fish Tank, instead of becoming another sordid study of pathology, becomes an exhilarating dance of liberation.

Realism of Mike Leigh but the spirit of Larry Clark

[bob_meg · 6/10 · 17 March 2011]

Fish Tank is a puzzle for me.

It's undoubtedly well made. The acting is truly excellent. It appears to be loaded with a lot of subtext and symbolism...it's not something that was knocked off in a hurry.

Yet for all the care and passion that undoubtedly went into its production, I just couldn't connect with it, which I found odd. Yes, I'm American but I always have found Mike Liegh's films to be very compelling, so I'll try to describe what I found it lacking by way of comparison.

Take Leigh's "Naked" and compare it to this film. Most of the characters in that film are extremely unlikable. It's by all accounts a brutal, grim, and depressing film (Fish Tank is probably the lighter of the two). Yet, I found the characters in "Naked" to be very compelling because I felt Leigh exposed them gradually. You couldn't predict their every move and motivation. I found almost all the characters in Fish Tank to be quite simplistic in comparison. Mia wants to be free. She wants to dance. She hates her home life. She's in love with her mom's boyfriend who has a VERY predictable secret that he's hiding.

And that's my real problem with this movie: the script. It follows a somewhat similar arc to Leigh's film even though the characters are nothing close to being similar. But Leigh's characters are compelling, and their journey is compelling. There is nothing in Fish Tank's story or characters that we haven't seen in similar coming-of-age movies many times before. If you take issue with this comparison, try Karen Moncrieff's "Blue Car" --- it's almost idenmtical to "Fish Tank" but the characters are a bit less black-and-white and off-putting, and that helps lift the story into places "Fish Tank" never gets near.

Without dimensional characters and a good story, the tawdry ugliness of this picture seems to exist for no other purpose than to shock, the way Larry Clark's "Kids" did when it was released. The scene of the 9 year old smoking a cig with her friend in front of the tube made me think of Clark's film and the bathtub/joint scene. But by now, these kind of "shocks" are a bit passé.

The off the wall reception this film has received is what stymies me. It almost appears as if Andrea Arnold was following a recipe for a "cutting-edge raw slice of life." It's well made yes, but it's none of the above.

A step beyond the kitchen sink

[dave-sturm · 9/10 · 5 February 2010]

As an American who used to be a fan of British "kitchen sink" drama I can say this film not only eclipsed those films, it eclipsed that whole genre, which was about poverty-stricken males who vented their rage against whoever crossed their path, usually females. "Fish Tank" turns all that inside out. This is "grrrrrl" kitchen sink.

Katie Jarvis cannot get enough kudos for her performance as a teenager called Mia. She's angry at the world. She fits in nowhere. Her mother is an advanced-age party animal who resents Mia for reminding her she's a mom.

Mia's poor. In the U.S., she would live in the projects. Here, it's called council flats.

The plot is fairly simple ... at first. Mia falls in love with her mother's studly boyfriend. He knows she lusts after him. She knows ... The movie is not really about the outcome of these lustful/familial issues as it is about how Mia will overcome/survive them. The movie goes in unpredictable directions.

One wonderful observation about this film is the economy of scenes. Every scene counts. An American version would have included at least one music video. Here, no BS. Every scene counts.

And the movie is about survival. Kids can survive bad backgrounds. We root for Mia all the way to the end.

Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, say hi to Andrea Arnold.

Coming of Age In Essex.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 21 May 2011]

Any film shot in locations with names like Hamlet Towers, Barking, and Mucking Flats can't be all bad, even if it's an inexpensive, small-scale slice of working-class life seen from the point of view of a maladjusted fifteen-year-old girl.

Kate Jarvis is Mia. She lives at home with her flamboyantly sexy Mom and her foul-mouthed little sister. Mia is at that stage of development that's cynical, sullen, and insulting, so she's been thrown out of school and is waiting for admittance to a kind of reform school. Meanwhile she has hopes of getting a professional job or otherwise achieving fame as a pop dancer who does break steps.

Her mother brings home a handsome, youngish boyfriend -- Michael Fassbender. Fassbender seems like a nice-enough guy. He's quiet, generous, friendly. But Mia, her hormones aboil, is silently attracted to him -- at least we can assume so. It's never very explicit. One night when Mom is "passed out", Mia demonstrates her slinky dance for him and he responds like any normal man. He's all over her. But he doesn't force her because he doesn't have to.

The incident leaves Fassbender filled with guilt and he moves out. Mia goes to considerable trouble tracking him down and comes close to doing him and herself real harm until she manages to shrug the affair off.

I can believe this was written and directed by a woman because it's all about the texture of relationships and the knotty problems they present us with. I don't mean that as a negative comment. The film may reflect female interests more than male ones but it's refreshing to see a movie about people who are screwed up but could be found on the sidewalk. If this had been directed by a man about a troubled adolescent boy it might have been full of guns, bashings, and busted snot lockers.

At that, though, it moves a little sluggishly. We're interested in the characters but the movie does go on, and it could have used some pruning in the editing room. "War and Peace" needs to be long. "Fish Tank" could have been shorter.

The movie belongs to Katie Jarvis and she's not bad. She has a small frame and although she's thoroughly nubile she retains the flat-breasted gangliness of her growth spurt. She's moderately attractive and it's a nice touch that once in a while the script gives her a chance to get drunk and show some happiness. It gives her a chance to demonstrate that there's more than one note on her instrument. What she lacks -- what I presume she is SUPPOSED to lack -- is feminine grace. She's not a dancer. Her moves are clumsy and inept, and when she doesn't get the job, it's just another disappointing childhood fantasy that she must come to terms with.

It's not a masterpiece. It's not that ambitious. But it's a neat and competent job, though it does need some cutting.

Staggering picture

[Stampsfightclub · 9/10 · 27 September 2009]

Friendless and unloved Mia (Jarvis) dreams of becoming a dancer and when her mum's new boyfriend arrives on the scene, everything changes for the teenager.

Fish tank is an exceptional artistic creation, based on the purity of Andrea Arnold's script and appreciative direction whilst a debuting Katie Jarvis excels as the troubled isolated teenager, and what a feature this is.

British cinema is some of the most dramatic and flinching cinema in the world. From Trainspotting to This is England there are always issues of realism and points to convey and with this 2009 appraised release we see more hard drama.

The opening sequence follows Mia around the streets, slurring and shouting abuse at anyone in her radar and the coarse dialogue and minimal amount of sympathy is staggering. As if you had been slapped, this will instantly startle you into realizing the type of environment and lifestyle Mia is living in. The language will give Pulp Fiction a run for its money.

Added as an attempt to justify the rural scene of Britain, Arnold gets it spot on as everything flows with little adjustment required. Everything is as it should be because everything has been so carefully planned, in particular the character development which will have many shedding a tear or two.

Katie Jarvis' cold and unappreciative style is spot on for the protagonist and as the film goes through hard fights with families and spending time isolated in a deserted flat, we see the emotional desire of Mia. The ambition of becoming a dancer is exceptionally well produced, owing to the fact that the background is effectively established. The hard family life Mia is living inspires her to find a way out and her dancing is her motive to break free. This really does work up a treat with twists turns, ups and downs and a staggering climax that adds extra spice to the picture.

At only 15 the central character certainly has a controversial agenda set for her. From sleeping with random strangers to drinking anything dangerous, Mia seems unfazed. Seeing her younger sister drinking beer with her mother in the next room will have mouths dropping.

Thanks to this straight forward no messing attitude the plot can move forward and tell the audience of what real life entails and the cultural state we are living in at the moment.

Some British films go out of their way to preach, such as This is England and Brassed off and whilst that isn't a bad quality, the enriching style of this film makes it flow and add extra drama continuously.

The scene setting shots are exquisite, as if made from a Skins episode without the teen angst. The scene in the car is excellent and not to forget this film boasts an exceptional soundtrack that fits the mood as well as 2007's Hallam Foe.

LIFE TANKED

[MadamWarden · 7/10 · 8 March 2022]

A simply awful and sad insight into the UK's lower economic lives. I say lives but really survival or existence.

Well filmed, directed and superbly acted by the young Katie Jarvis and able supported by Fassbender.

A very good if depressing movie.

"Say Hello to the world for me. "

A slow burner that never really takes off

[tr91 · 4/10 · 8 August 2014]

Fish Tank is a film that I had high expectations for but it fell considerably short of the mark. The premise of the film sounds like a great drama but for me it just didn't work. First of all the film is way too long for what it is, its 2 hours long and hardly anything happens! This easily could've had 30 minutes edited out as some scenes added absolutely nothing to the story.

The film started off good but after an hour I began to realise that nothing special would happen. It was basically just watching a girl walk around her estate, swear at some people, try and free a horse, dance a bit, go home, leave the house again, dance some more and that's really all there was to it. Some of the stuff that was happening was just cringe worthy. The shaky camera was also rather annoying.

The actors done a good but this film could have been so much more. Too long and not enough happening, disappointed.

5/10.

Stunning theatrical debut from Katie Jarvis and director Andrea Arnold

[skysaxon · 26 May 2011]

I left this movie stunned and stilled. Katie Jarvis' expressionless voyage through her 15th year soaked my entire attention into her character's being until I was her. A masterful performance of reserve and barely suppressed anger, frustration and awe permeate Jarvis' every move. While the character does unforgivable things at times, she is never who she seems to be on the surface. One can't help but pull for Mia and empathize with her inherent goodness, masquerading as it is under a steely, cold demeanour.

Jarvis' extraordinary performance wouldn't make a whit of impact without a director's equally reserved yet insightful work. Arnold never forces the issue, save for a little bit of symbolic overindulgence near the end, letting the characters play out the story.

Jarvis isn't alone in her excellence. Michael Fassbinder is a wonder, a smooth talking machismo machine who never over exerts but provides the right nuance at the right moment. Kierston Wareing is equally as effective, raw yet vulnerable, but like her daughters you would never know it by her words alone.

Arnold is one of the few modern directors who does not employ gimmicks. Music is one of the most offending of all directing crutches. This director avoids incidental music except when it actually occurs as part of the story. In one scene in particular, crossing fields all you can hear are the rustling of the leaves and the weeds, much like Antonioni did with "Blow-Up". Without distracting synthesisers or orchestras, the scene has all the terror of the moment.

This is a rare movie of substance and grit. It sinks under your skin and won't let you go. It never overplays its hand and keeps you involved. Arnold, Fassbender and Jarvis weave a hypnotic tale that in most cases would alienate and aggravate. It takes real artistry to transform such a gritty tale into a work of art of subtly and reserve. Fassbender is fast becoming a star. It won't take longer for Jarvis to follow, should she want it bad enough. As for Arnold, I'm looking forward to her next work more than any other.

The hard reality of dysfunction

[drbarrera · 7/10 · 3 December 2012]

This is a great film. It starts off a bit slow but I believe it serves a purpose. The filmmaker did a great job of portraying the characters in the film but exposing just enough to make the second half of the film come together in a way that helps you see the characters more deeply. Katie Jarvis did a wonderful job in painting a picture of an angry 15 year old 'Mia'. Why is she so angry? You can take a look at Kierston Wareing's character of 'Joanna', the terrible excuse for a mother that puts the needs of her children second to her own needs of looking for love and acceptance in whoever will give it to her. The mother finds this acceptance in Fassbender's character, 'Connor', who seems to be a great and unlikely catch for her. He seems to be a ray of light for the family but turns out to be just the opposite. My opinion is that the story is not about the damage the family experiences in the interaction with Connor but rather the reality that this is just one example of a series of bad decisions made by the mother that propels the children into a world of emotional pain and disappointment. It's also a picture of the cycle of dysfunction that is taking place in a family and the poor decisions that continue to keep that dysfunction in place. There is a glimmer of hope with Mia (her desire to help an old horse) but it is such a faint glimmer that it doesn't leave the viewer thinking that much will change with this family. There are some very hard hitting scenes in the movie that leave you on the edge of your seat saying, "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!" and there are some scenes that really make you feel sorry for the characters and you can really see some of them as victims, especially the children. Overall, great movie and I highly, highly recommend it.

Oh, Mia

[down-emily · 9/10 · 28 April 2011]

Watching this movie felt like a painful, yet necessary experience. This is coming from someone who nearly loved the movie. But it's true, no matter what you think about it, Fish Tank is not easy to watch, at times. I'm not saying it's particularly gritty, but it just rings too close to home to ignore. We deal with this image every day, we see these kids, wasting their lives and their talents between grey walls, staring into space emptily, trying to get away from some shitty family and we see that shitty family, living in a piling mess of mediocrity. And after we see this, we try to run away quickly, cover our eyes and pick a comforting view again.

Fish Tank is a love or hate movie, I've come to realize. I loved it, but my roommate for example, hated it. She hated the fact that no character was redeemable in any way and that the plot went nowhere. But most of all, she hated the feeling the movie gave her, of total and complete alienation.

Funny thing, that's what I loved about the movie. The atmosphere, as bleak and desolate as it was, made me appreciate a great deal of small things this movie subtly hints at, such as sisterhood, the beauty of nature, car rides, horses and empty apartments. It sounds strange, but the movie actually painted a bright image, a very bright image of pain.

It's not dark and hopeless, it's just staggering in its hope, which makes it all the more painful. All throughout this movie, each character seems to strive towards something. It can be meaningless and stupid to us, but to them, it's everything. It doesn't matter why they strive. The fact that their attempts all crumble into a jaded sense of hopelessness is of greater impact. Because it doesn't start out with hopelessness and it doesn't end with hopelessness. It's the crushing feeling in between that takes you to a new emotional level. It's the middle of the movie that shows you what real despair can feel like. And to me it felt like a muffled shout. As if Mia was trying to scream, but someone had shoved silence in her mouth. From the outside, this movie can be about Mia's journey towards a new life, not better, but still different. But on the inside, it can be about the end of Mia's journey into herself.

I think it's very important to understand that Mia never wanted a lover in Connor. Sure, she thought about him that way and she had an obvious crush on him, but she's fifteen, she's allowed to confuse feelings and be attracted to handsome, older men. But Mia really started liking Connor when he showed kindness and attention. She never wanted to be another girlfriend, she wanted to be someone important in his life, because she wasn't important to anyone in general. She thought she'd found solace in him and that he would take her away from everything. It's the childish illusion of escape through someone else. It's the disappointment when she discovers he's run away that makes this character so solid for me. Mia is not angry he ran off after sex. And even when she finds out he'd lied all that time and he had another life with his wife and child, she doesn't act like the other woman, betrayed by a lover. She just feels let down. She allowed herself to hope and she got nothing in return. Disappointing children is one of the worst things adults can do. And Connor does just that, making Mia feel like a small child again.

I see a striking parallelism between her and his young daughter. She takes Connor's daughter in a fit of rage, but she discovers they're both just as fragile. And Mia hates being fragile. She quietly hates the fact that Connor saw her as an attractive girl first and only later as a kid. But I suspect she also hates herself for having caused this shift in the first place, for having led Connor, through her somewhat innocent flirtations, to see her first in a sexual manner and second, as a friend. But any guilt she might feel she directs at him, for putting her in an impossible position. It's at this point that I understood Connor's failure to be a father figure had become her failure to be a daughter. She feels so disconnected to her mother that all she can do as she leaves her home is to share a last dance with her. She's become a woman in that horrible sense of the word, forcing her innocence and inexperience to become weapons and playing on the fact that her status will always depend on her sexuality (and this is cleverly hinted at in the audition scene).

Despite all of this, Mia is still a strong character. She refuses to get naked, refuses to be beaten down, refuses to give up dancing, refuses to let herself get drowned in her mother's world. It's always annoying when teenagers pick 'No' as their favourite word. But in this case, her blatant rejection of everyone and everything is not a bratty act of self-sufficiency, it's a desperate cry for acceptance, for a 'Yes'. In the end, what's sad is that she is proved right, that rejection would have saved her some unnecessary pain. But the last scene manages to turn this grim conclusion into a double-edged sword. Rejection would have saved her the trouble, but acceptance is still another form of rejection. By accepting to move on, she rejects her old life, she rejects her mother and she rejects becoming another 'problem kid' in a correctional facility (because that's what would have happened, had she gone further with her kidnapping). So, if we take a closer look, are rejection and acceptance much different? No, they both require each other for either one to be effective.

Interesting . . . BUT . . .

[ken-roberts-1 · 6/10 · 30 January 2010]

This film is interesting and watchable because it does keep you guessing. BUT it had so much potential that was untapped. I wanted so badly to see the main character break down in a real, authentic way. Actually I wanted somebody - ANYBODY to break down and show some emotion other than HATE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It always amazes me how an actress can do nothing and immediately be placed on a pedestal as the next "great one". This is what the reviewers here have done. The main character, "Mia", never truly showed a single emotion throughout the film other than hate and anger. OK, so the script was written that way. But the part would be a piece of cake for ANY actress. All she has to do is recite lines with a stone-cold face and then periodically shout at someone. Even the ONE crying scene she buries her head in her arms so you don't see her face. Why ? Because she can't act - that's why. I am sure the Director tried repeatedly to show her face but no tears would ever come - so all they could do is have her hide her face.

Even when the eventual career move proved to be a cruel misunderstanding of intent - no tears. That would have really caused the audience to feel for Mia. But no - just a quick "exit, Stage Left".

At first I really liked the Mother's new Boyfriend as we were supposed to. But to see what he did to young Mia was more than I could bear. Was the point there that the ONLY kind person in the movie was yet another selfish slimeball ? Apparently so - and I cannot appreciate a film that tries to tell you that ALL human beings are rotten to the core. I have lived in areas like that, and they are not filled with 100% haters and losers - as this film portrays.

The Mother NEVER EVER said a single kind word to her daughter. Again . . why not add some realism to it and show a few "nice" moments ?

I must say, the climax was fascinating, unexpected, and very frightening. If the story had taken a truly ominous turn here and a murder of a child had occurred, then it would have been the "most talked about film" of 2009. I was relieved it didn't go there, but it was very scary.

Dirty, honest, sad, lonely but strangely uplifting...

[kennyevans · 9/10 · 19 May 2009]

I just watched this in the Grand Lumiere theatre at Cannes FF, a brilliant experience and a fantastic film! What struck me immediately was the use of natural light in this film. It really had that feeling that you were there and there were none of the typical Hollywood looks to people and sets. It had a very British feel, very much in the vein of Loach's Kes.

having discovered the story behind Jarvis the female lead, it makes the whole performance more astonishing and remarkable. The angry teenager has never been done more convincingly in my opinion, even though my daughter can at times be a close second! There must be young hopefuls in drama schools around the country literally gutted that they have devoted their young lives and untold money to this art but been trounced by an absolute beginner in a role she was obviously made for, whether she knew it or not.

The environment was nasty, you could smell the urine in the corridors, feel the poverty amongst the residents and imagine the boredom of the children. One thing that did occur to me at the start of this film was that Mia wasn't great at dancing. I first thought that if this was a film about how dancing would save her, she would either need to get good quickly or it would be a serious fail.

The male lead, Connor (Fassbender) appears early on as another of Mia's mothers' 'pulls' from the local pub or club. The sexual tension is evident from the start but it doesn't stop Mia from rifling his wallet for money within minutes of meeting him! The mother is stereotypically perfect, the lush who drinks to excess yet tries in vain to preserve her looks with botox and yards of makeup and bleach. It's not clear what she does but suffice to say, not very much, particularly in the parenting department.

Finally we have Sophie, Mias sister. For me she was the comic relief, raising the film above total hopelessness and depression with her funny comments, observations and innocent (ish) take on things. It's hard to imagine the words were put in her mouth as they seem so natural. Whilst in Cannes watching this film it was evident that much of the dialogue went over the audiences head. When we heard the (obligatory staff) dog was called Tennants, we laughed out loud, but we laughed alone! The film just seemed to tick along effortlessly. The scenes with Connor and Mia where bursting with tension and the inevitable coupling just a matter of time. However there were times, for instance the spanking scene with Connor in the bedroom, where it seemed that Mia had experienced something similar and it had adversely affected her. It wasn't clear whether Connor represented an abusive father figure who she couldn't help but fall for or whether she was just a curious teenager, having seen him and her mother having sex through the door one night.

Very difficult to find fault with this film, even if you were looking. The performances were believable, the camera work although almost exclusively hand-held was not jarring and just helped convey the realness of the piece. Lens flares, exposure issues, focus etc, all leant to the genuine feel and put you right there. Even the ending rounded up the film perfectly and I'm glad she wasn't going to win any dancing competitions and get a job in the West End! Great achievement, surely the Palm D'or must belong to Andrea Arnold this year for a brilliantly portrayed glimpse of life as an East End teenager in London and for such a little amount of money! (£2m)

Fish Tank

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 26 November 2020]

Fish Tank would be viewed in the prism of Broken Britain. A term used by the then Tory leader David Cameron.

After he became Prime Minister he thought the repair kit would be more austerity, benefit cuts and Brexit. Way to go Dave.

Fish Tank owes a debt to the French New Wave such as The 400 Blows and the British social realism movies like Kes.

Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a feral 15 year old living with her boozy single mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) and foul mouthed younger sister Tyler. Mia has been expelled from school, she is volatile who constantly lashes out at people.

With no friends she spends her time practicing dance moves. It is a dead end life and she realises that when she sees a tied up horse in a gypsy camp. Mia wants to free the horse but is almost raped when some young men catch her.

Things change when her mother hitches up with Conor (Michael Fassbender). He is a security guard who beings some order into their chaotic lives. Conor is kind to Mia, he lends her his video camera so she can record her dance moves. However when Mia feels let down by Conor, she visits his family home.

The film changes gears with the introduction of Conor. He is a wage earner and kindly who behaves like a father figure to the family. It also raises hints of Conor being predatory or opportunistic. His kindliness means Conor can earn the trust of the children including a vulnerable teenager who yearns tenderness and love.

This is a raw slice of life drama from director Andrea Arnold which hints at a tragic outcome as Mia goes looking for revenge. However the film is too long and needed trimming slightly. Arnold won a best short film Oscar for Wasp which explored similar themes.

Both Jarvis and Wareing later found roles in the BBC soap opera Eastenders. Jarvis has a sharpness in Mia but as a non actress, I wonder if Mia in some ways was an extension of her own personality.

In 2019 Jarvis was stupidly shamed by a newspaper who exposed her as working as a security guard after leaving Eastenders. In 2020 Jarvis was arrested for racial assault after a fight in a pub.

Fassbender is very good as Conor. A man who made his name in independent features and ended up being forever speculated as the next James Bond. Even though by the time a vacancy arises, he would probably be too old for the role.

Much more than a stereotypical kitchen sink drama

[nqure · 8/10 · 12 December 2009]

Like Arnold's first long feature 'Red Road', 'Fish Tank' is a much more emotionally complex film than its apparent setting – a council estate in Essex- and subject matter initially suggests. Both films contain an element of mystery and a revelation which makes us reassess the characters and their motives.

Instead, 'Fish Tank' confers nobility, like the mangy horse chained to a rock,upon a stereotype, one much mocked by the likes of the comedienne Catherine Tate. Just because Mia appears not 'bovvered', does not mean this vulnerable outsider possesses real human depth.

Mia's tragedy is that she is isolated, a girl who acts tough but has a clear need for human connection and warmth of any sorts (hence her compassion for the chained horse) which her self-absorbed mother cannot offer. Her isolation increases after she falls out with a girlfriend, a betrayal which perhaps prefigures a later one in the film, that leaves her emotionally bereft.

Into her life, steps Connor, warm, attractive & sexy. He cradles her when she is asleep and their connection develops on a visit to the countryside, a pastoral interlude. Like the fish they catch, Mia suffocates in her loveless environment (like Bresson's Mouchette though that film is shot through a religious prism).

Mia places her trust in Connor, as in her shy visit to his workplace, and naively associates sex with intimacy after witnessing her mother & Connor sleeping together. She does form an emotional bond with a local Gypsy lad, but appears confused. (Towelhead, the new film by Alan Ball, covers a similar theme though from the view of a young Arab-American girl brought up in a restricted environment)

The erotic tension generated by Mia & Connor's relationship is palpable as well as a growing sense of menace and of things slowly unraveling. However, I think when Connor & Mia finally sleep with each other, the feeling one gets is that the emotional bond which exists between them has been transgressed. The film is an ironic reversal of 'Red Road', where Jackie & Clyde's relationship changed after they slept together, which led to an emotional resolution. Here, Mia & Connor's encounter leads to a rupture.

In the final Act, the film does become melodramatic, possessing the unpredictable tension & energy of a Dardenne film (The Child), but, by then, Arnold has convinced you with her characters and the depiction of their world.

From then on, the film becomes a rites of passage, where Mia learns bitter disappointment but also forgiveness (the final dance with her mother to a rap song 'Life's A Bitch').

Arnold's cinematographic approach is to 'find a distinctive image' from which the story unfolds. As in 'Red Road', the use of lighting is original, for instance how street lights illuminate Mia in her bedroom or the fateful night when she dances in front of Connor, whose weakness sees him exploit her.

I do agree that the final image of the floating balloon was weak, a bit of a let-down like the canary flying around the living room in 'Red Road', but, like Edith in 'Ghost World', the only way for Mia to survive or outgrow her surroundings is to leave the estate. (Like Mia, Edith's close friendship with the mature Seymour takes an inappropriate turn when they sleep together, another bond transgressed by the wrong step).

I look forward to seeing Arnold's next film. The dilemma facing her is whether to take a radical departure and do something completely different or continue filming stories in a similar milieu. Although 'Red Road' & 'Fish Tank' share a similar setting, both are distinctive and original films. 'Red Road' is probably the more accessible in terms of plot & emotion as 'Fish Tank' covers emotions that are extremely complex and ambiguous: Why does Connor feel suddenly so possessive when Mia asks him for money for her & her Gypsy friend at his workplace? In fact, why does Mia bring her Gypsy friend to his workplace in the first place? Did she do it to taunt/provoke Connor? The implied sexual rivalry between mother & daughter (The incident where Joanne orders a half naked Mia to get dressed whilst Connor sits watching). It is a film shrouded in ambiguity which eventually leads to its fateful encounter and final revelation.

Big Director still looking for a big script to match her immense talents

[colinmetcalfe · 7/10 · 10 May 2010]

There is surely no argument about it now that Arnold is a very fine film director in the gritty contemporary drama genre. I'm less convinced about her writing and this film convinces me even more. She sets excellent scenes, creates interesting characters (even though we've seen them many times before), draws fantastic performances from a predominantly young cast, and creates realistic tension and drama, but in Fish Tank the resolution is weak and in the last act I thought the story got a bit lost as if she didn't know where to go with it or changed her mind several times in a bid to find originality. I'd be interested to learn how she wrote it whether that was always the ending from the first draft, or she tried to bolt on several versions before finally settling on the one we see in the film.

Make no mistake about it she is a special talent (a sort of ginger female Shane Meadows) and if she ever gets her hands on a brilliant story (written by herself or another) then they're will be no stopping her. I look forward to seeing her next film.

Another Grim & Gritty Parable From England

[druid333-2 · 10/10 · 13 March 2010]

If you think England is only good for turning out glossy, romantic films adapted from their classic novels,guess again. England has long become a staple for some grim,gritty,edgy stories of the darker side of the human condition (with an emphasis on the working class---I guess they're channeling the Charles Dickens within them). Recent films such as 'Nil By Mouth',and 'Ratcatcher' have cemented this reputation. Now add Andrea Arnold's equally harrowing tale of existential despair, 'Fish Tank'. The story centers on Mia,a scrappy 15 year old girl,played with gusto by Kate Jarvis. Mia has an attitude problem,a short fuse,and has no problem solving adverse issues with her fists (evidant by an altercation in the film's opening with another girl,where Mia head butts her,giving the other girl a bloody nose),or her mouth (she has no problem cussing out anyone who crosses her path,including her Mother & little sister,who also boast of filthy mouths). Mia's big dream is to become a big time Hip Hop dancer & is always practicing her dance moves. Things take a turn for Mia's worse when her mom brings home a new boyfriend (Michael Fassbinder),who has less than wholesome designs for young Mia. Along the way,Mia attempts to make friends with an older boy who is in the process of restoring an automobile. As with other girl's her age,Mia experiments with the usual attractions:alcohol,drugs,sex,etc. All of this makes for a film that is not always easy to watch,but easy to admire for it's bravura. Andrea Arnold ('Red Road'and several made for British television projects)writes & directs this kitchen sink view of the British working class. Prepare yourself to get kicked in the stomach for 123 minutes. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains pervasive strong language,an outburst of violence,flashes of nudity & sexual situation,including abhorrent adult behaviour involving a minor. Not for the little ones.

Fish W'ank

[Naomh · 3/10 · 22 August 2011]

Caught this on TV last week and I couldn't be more dismayed at the praise this film has received.

Quick review - a boring film where nothing much happens and anything that does happen is filled with clichés. What? He has a wife and daughter!? *Cue shock / horror music. The "Symbolism" was also pap. A white horse she is trying to free from the chains of this horrible area? - A horse we're told was 16 and was her time and she was killed off. Sigh... The Mother and two daughters who haven't the ability to be warm to each other, yet dance in perfect unison together at the end. You see folks, they are a family! Gimme a break.

Overall it looked quite nice but a bit repetitive after a while and that's about it. For what it's worth I enjoyed the directors previous film Red Road a lot better. At least that had a plot!

Fish out of water

[cshiira-681-591495 · 6 May 2010]

It's an incongruous sight, a white horse situated in a vacant lot, surrounded by the blight of urban decay; a white horse in Essex, and Mia(Kate Jarvis) at 15, a well-seasoned 15, wizened up from poverty, a broken family, and an unpromising future, tries to liberate the horse from the shambles of his shackled life, because she knows how the palomilla feels. They're kindred spirits those two, the girl and horse, both victims of circumstance: no sugarcubes for him, no sweetness in her life either. The horse, one year her senior, despite aging differently from his human counterpart, is definitely Mia's contemporary, in the sense that the girl's chronological age matters less than her emotional age, where fifteen, accelerated by the mean streets of inner-city England, can be measured in animal years.

"I'm not a bloody kid, you know!" Mia tells Connor(Michael Rappaport), her mother's new beau, who responds, "I know," when she shows up unexpectedly at his workplace. It's the film's turning point, a declaration that unsnarls the ambiguity behind Connor's previous interactions with Mia, which could be interpreted as either fatherly, or the overtures of a sexual predator. He touches both Mia, and her younger sister, but what kind of touch is it? With Tyler(Rebecca Griffiths), Connor engages the foul-mouthed lass(she says "c**t" with more authenticity than Chloe Grace Moretz in Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass") in seemingly harmless horseplay, tickling the girl at their front door when she doesn't fork over "money for the gatekeeper". "Fish Tank" firmly establishes Connor as a "good guy"(one suspects, atypical from the girls' mother's other boyfriends), a father figure, a bedrock of surrogate parenting, so he gets the benefit of the doubt in his encounters with Mia that could be ascribed as sexual, if the moviegoer penciled the man as a pervert from the outset.

After a party, having fallen asleep in the wrong bed, with her drunken mother's consent, Connor carries Mia in his arms to her own bed, where he proceeds to take off the girl's shoes, and then pants, while she feigns sleep without protest, alarming the moviegoer with the possible sexual connotations made by the undressing, before we're rest assured by the man's corrective measure of covering up the girl's underwear and exposed legs with a blanket. The next day, during a "family" outing at a secret fishing spot overgrown with greenery, Connor has Mia jump on his back under the pretense of a cut foot. Prior to the minor scrape, both man and girl look like father and daughter as they conspire to catch a fish in the pond, while the mother Joanne(Kierston Wareing) and Tyler watch from the edge. The next time they meet, the moviegoer is less sure about Connor's intentions, as he cleans and bandages her untreated cut, with a temperament pitched uneasily between paternal and incestuous. Mia smiles for the first time. No doubt about it: he's flirting with her.

Mia, an aspiring dancer in the hip-hop mode, spots a flier posted outside an Internet cafe which advertises the need for female dancers, as "Fish Tank" makes allusions to Hollywood's recent slate of dance-oriented movies such as "You Got Served" and "Step Up", a shrewd move on the film's part because it puts Connor to the test, since the moviegoer suspects that the dancing is exotic. Instead of a warning, he equips Mia with his video camera so she can create a demonstration tape for the promoters. Shirtless and stinking of cologne, as Connor gives the camera to Mia, he suddenly pulls the girl over his lap and spanks her, perhaps out of sexual excitement over seeing her strip should the girl be in a sharing mood. Slowly, but surely, Connor's intentions to sleep with her becomes more pronounced, outweighing his self-deluded affectations of mentoring and nurturing her, especially when he makes eye-contact with Mia as he f*** her mother from behind a half-open door. What happens next is inevitable.

Disillusioned and defeated, Mia returns to her equine friend. He's dead, prompting the girl to leave Essex with his owner, because in another year in the "fish tank" might kill her too. From the backseat of a moving car, she's a fish out of water while waving goodbye to Tyler.