There were a few times while watching Jellyfish that I thought I would have to turn it off. While my own childhood experience was not as extreme as the ones seen in this film, it was close enough to make watching it quite difficult. At the same time it was so good in its performances and the intensity of emotion that I was practically compelled to keep watching. I kept thinking, the ending of this film better be damn good as that will be what makes watching it ultimately worthwhile. In this context I found the ending to be a disappointment though not inappropriate. The story of the eldest daughter of a mentally ill/narcissistic drug addict mother, and how the daughter works so hard to keep the family, including much younger twin siblings, intact and the toll this takes on her. At the same time her emotional struggles lead her to write comedy, so there is something of a silver lining. I would recommend viewing it if you desire an emotionally intense movie-watching experience which includes some nice shots of one of England's quaint seaside towns.
35 Reviews
Tough but worth it to see Liv Hills performance
fentor-139-72953226 November 2019
Phew that was a really really tough watch... very much like a Shane Meadows movie... harsh, grim and gritty social story with a tinge of humour and hard hitting story and ending - the young actress who played the lead was unbelievable, keep an eye on her she is going places
I've seen some reviews that portrays the teacher as 'ever dependable' and 'saviour' I disagree I thought he was self-centred and too embroiled in his show to show humanity to the main character... until it was all too late
I've seen some reviews that portrays the teacher as 'ever dependable' and 'saviour' I disagree I thought he was self-centred and too embroiled in his show to show humanity to the main character... until it was all too late
Powerful, moving, often painful social drama
tiltilton23 February 2021
The acting here is consistently good, with two excellent central performances: LIV HILL in the lead as a fifteen year old forced to grow up early and parent her younger siblings as well as her utterly incapable mother - who's superbly portayed in all her highs, lows and broken chaos by SINEAD MATTHEWS. Both are outstanding.
Outstanding acting from the lead
bazookamouth-221-89809730 May 2022
The film begins in kitchen-sink-grim mode, then multiplies in interest as it transforms into the origins story of a teenage female talent - here in standup comedy rather than art. It has an astonishingly good performance by Liv Hill as Sarah, a 15-year-old written off by teachers as lazy and anti-social. Sarah is coping with the responsibilities of looking after her mentally ill mum and younger siblings. Homework ranks on her priority list somewhere below finding a fiver for the electricity meter. She is also holding down a part-time job at an amusement arcade where she gives handjobs to sad old blokes for a tenner. The subject matter in Jellyfish is bleak, but lets Sarah tell her story as she finds her voice as a comedian in the finale. Liv Hill. What a fantastic actress.
Totally unexpected emotional rollercoaster
llpugpug17 February 2019
I have never written a review but felt compelled to after watching this film. I hadn't even heard of the film when my friend asked me if I wanted to go see it with the loose permise that it's about a young girl that discovers she's good at stand up.
What the film gave me instead is an unexpected emotional rollercoaster, some really uncomfortable scenes, but actually a true reflection of real life situations. There are topics covered throughout the film that many people can relate and empathise with, some more difficult than others. Liv Hill is brilliant in this and delivers a very emotive performance, and actually the stand up comedy narrative is for me not the main focus of the story, it's more that she finds solace in it as an escape for everything else she has to deal with. The main story for me is relationships, and having to navigate these to try and lead a normal life when it's anything but normal.
This is not a film for kids at all, but I highly recommend watching this. Just maybe not a film to go and watch if you're already emotionally fragile...
What the film gave me instead is an unexpected emotional rollercoaster, some really uncomfortable scenes, but actually a true reflection of real life situations. There are topics covered throughout the film that many people can relate and empathise with, some more difficult than others. Liv Hill is brilliant in this and delivers a very emotive performance, and actually the stand up comedy narrative is for me not the main focus of the story, it's more that she finds solace in it as an escape for everything else she has to deal with. The main story for me is relationships, and having to navigate these to try and lead a normal life when it's anything but normal.
This is not a film for kids at all, but I highly recommend watching this. Just maybe not a film to go and watch if you're already emotionally fragile...
The whole system, everybody fails this bright girl.
BBogus24 June 2019
The plight of a young carer in a desperate situation is so heartbreaking. No matter her good intentions and how hard she tries nobody seems to care (except at the end). Nothing so tragic as a young life burdened with harsh realities and responsibilities for which it is not yet ready, certainly not emotionally. Film was far from perfect and hard to watch, still it has heart and I loved it.
Astonishingly good for a first film
tortycat3-125 June 2018
I saw this at the Edinburgh film festival. The first film for this director, and I expected not to like it as the subject matter is not what I would normally see at the cinema, I was really surprised at how good it was. The story of a 15 year old girl struggling to keep her family going and the toll it took upon her personally. The acting was excellent, and the direction and editing mature and very well executed. There were a couple of scenes which really made me wince, but nothing was gratuitous and they served to emphasise the points they were making-the loss of control for someone who is still a child but forced to try and make her way in an adult world with no support. The supporting characters were well realised and added to the film as a whole.
Go and see it. It's not an 'easy ride' but well worth persevering with. The ending, which I will not spoil, is to some extent what the viewer makes of it. See it to see what I mean!
Go and see it. It's not an 'easy ride' but well worth persevering with. The ending, which I will not spoil, is to some extent what the viewer makes of it. See it to see what I mean!
Not for young kids
aprilrain-3778913 January 2019
Surprisingly good
Jimthellama6 March 2019
We saw Jellyfish last night without expecting anything very much but we found the film really absorbing. The main character is beautifully played and very convincing. She doesn't always make the right choices, but you can entirely see why this happens. It really makes you think about the issues involved. In its own way, In many ways, it reminded me of 'Kes', effectively mixing drama and humour. My favourite film of the year so far, (and I have seen quite a few). Hope it gets the release it deserves.
Raw and affecting drama for us, real life for many kids
Proactivity21 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
When I started watching this film, I thought it might be a good one to watch with my 12 and 15 year old daughters. I like to show them strong female lead characters. A young girl, Sarah, breaking into the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy seemed to be a good example of that. It quickly became clear that Sarah is forced into abusive situations that no 15 year old should ever be subjected to, and serves as a sharp reminder that this is reality for far too many young kids.
Sarah steps up to take on the role of single mum when her own mum, financially irresponsible and crippled by mental health issues, can no longer cope. She fights to juggle the pressures of parental responsibilities, school, and being the sole income provider, just to keep her family together and a roof over their heads. Support is there if she wanted it, and she could ask for help, but this comes with the risk of being taken back into care by Social Services, so she takes the burden on her own shoulders, with all that that entails.
This feels very much like a Ken Loach film (I, Daniel Blake; Sorry We Missed You), bringing societal problems to the surface and shining a light on them, which will be painfully relatable to many, and shockingly eye-opening to those fortunate and privileged enough to be otherwise unaffected by these issues.
The ending is bitter-sweet. Often I don't mind open-ended films, leaving the rest of the story to your imagination, but other times it feels lazy, and this is one of those times. It finished at least 5 minutes too soon, without any resolution, with all of its loose ends untied, and without that the story feels incomplete. It's the last episode of a series that ends on a cliff-hanger, then gets cancelled, and there's no satisfaction in that.
Sarah steps up to take on the role of single mum when her own mum, financially irresponsible and crippled by mental health issues, can no longer cope. She fights to juggle the pressures of parental responsibilities, school, and being the sole income provider, just to keep her family together and a roof over their heads. Support is there if she wanted it, and she could ask for help, but this comes with the risk of being taken back into care by Social Services, so she takes the burden on her own shoulders, with all that that entails.
This feels very much like a Ken Loach film (I, Daniel Blake; Sorry We Missed You), bringing societal problems to the surface and shining a light on them, which will be painfully relatable to many, and shockingly eye-opening to those fortunate and privileged enough to be otherwise unaffected by these issues.
The ending is bitter-sweet. Often I don't mind open-ended films, leaving the rest of the story to your imagination, but other times it feels lazy, and this is one of those times. It finished at least 5 minutes too soon, without any resolution, with all of its loose ends untied, and without that the story feels incomplete. It's the last episode of a series that ends on a cliff-hanger, then gets cancelled, and there's no satisfaction in that.
Unexpected
amelia-mccague2 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I put this movie on to waste a bit of time. The summary fooled me into believing that it was going to be a light-hearted movie but having seen Liv Hill in 3 girls I should have known better. This movie is excellent. I was brought to tears and felt every feeling Liv Hill (incredible actress) was feeling. I noticed in another review someone said that the mothers illness was never clarified, making the movie poor. My perspective on this is that the mothers illness is never mentioned as it is the point of view of a 15 year old girl who may not know what exactly is wrong with her mother. She just knows that's she's unwell, but that's my opinion. The scene in the arcade really blew me away, just by filming a road, you could feel the length of the ordeal that she had to endure. This whole movie truly blew me away! I really recommend to everyone!
very good
watcher20198 June 2019
This is such a good film. I see another reviewer said it reminded them of Kes. I didn't think so Kes was so depressing after seeing it i felt like killing the writer and director for putting it out. There are so many youngsters living lives like this it is frightening. It is rare for them ever to recover from an upbringing like this. The acting was superb! Give it a watch but be prepared for some shocking scenes.
Mirthless stand-up.
johnrgreen3 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Some earnest reviews so far.i didn't enjoy this as much. the pros in the cast had the effect of unbalancing the film.The teacher particularly hamming it up.This jars .The mother, a heavily under-wrought role,Was she a drunk,a drug addict or mentally ill? whatever it was I must have missed the reference. The episode with the parent in the disco a pasted on unlikely event and the father bizarrely played.So,no not a great film and the girl playing the lead got angry and just swore a lot and humiliated her enemies at school and was by no means a Lennie Bruce in the making.An'issue' film for our times all very worthy but missing the mark if it was trying to achieve a Ken Loach style.
Powerfully devastating
muamba_eats_toast5 February 2020
Arguably Liv Hill deserved a 10/10 one of the best individual performances I've seen in a very longtime especially for a non household name but as good as the rest of the film still was im not sure I could say it was one of the very very best of the year but it wasn't far behind for sure. Highly recommend.
Intelligent, emotional film-making
bnsw1917 February 2021
A director and an actress to watch out for. A small film of one life that, because it could be so many of our lives, grows into a huge film. The Margate Tourist Office can't have enjoyed this film - despite being beautifully photographed, it's hardly an advert for the town. A quietly sensational film without ever being a sensationalist one. It will stay with me for a while.
Hard hitting emotional drama...
karlmartin-4735211 March 2021
This is an absolutely horrendous story for starters of children who have to act and are thrown into circumstances that are far beyond their years. It's an incredibly brave film and had it not been for the credible performances, could've been extremely cringing as I have seen my fair share of amateur productions. I also think it's a really important film to be viewed by teachers and educators to understand their students as multidimensional people as opposed to how they present themselves in whatever class it is they are attending. The learners I often come into contact with come with their own emotional baggage so it really wasn't difficult to understand exactly what the great young actress was portraying. This is another recent film which has shown just how desolate British seaside towns are, or have become, & the struggles which go hand in hand with that dying and dilapidated environment.
Liv Hill is amazing
jonathanjcrowe3 November 2019
...a tough, emotional storyline, with more dark than light, where not everything is labelled and the struggles of life do not end with a miraculous transformation.
A film that confirms that life can be hard and EXTREAMLY hard for young people without support that some take for granted.
The acting is great and Liv Hill is amazing. A brilliant actress at such a young age.
A film that confirms that life can be hard and EXTREAMLY hard for young people without support that some take for granted.
The acting is great and Liv Hill is amazing. A brilliant actress at such a young age.
Heart wrenching
ginjaninja-4390722 August 2019
Liv hill gives an amazing performance. This is not a real fun film to watch. But it's so enjoyable because of its portrayals and the true to life experiences. I dont know how anyone could walk away from this film and not be touched by the story and portrayals in this film. My mom and wife always say they dont like watching nonsense, like science fiction or horror. This is no nonsense. If you want to watch something that's deeper than your typical hollywood fair. Then watch this.
Uncomfortably riviting
foggy-5943517 August 2019
Excuse me as I have never written a review before, I came across this film by accident, and after watching it , I felt I needed to say how good it was. The main character ( liv hill )played the part , of a girl who is trying to keep her family together .out of her depth , but trying to do it alone . At school , working, trying to take care of her siblings, and through her school drama teacher she finds an outlet . Something she enjoys , stand up comedy.
I watched this , hoping the ending would be a success. But knowing in my heart it wouldn't. Shocking in some parts , strangely funny in others , very uncomfortable. But you have to see it through. Anyway I enjoyed it and I hope anyone reading this does to .
Riveting
hec9327 November 2020
Pure brilliance from start to finish. The scene in the amusements was difficult watching but so well shot and utterly compelling. Liv Hill gave an outstanding performance throughout. Although it made for difficult watching, at times, it truly reminds me that so many humans are putting on a brave face to the world. We know so little of what goes on behind closed doors. It emphasises that we will never be aware of the trials and tribulations so many are facing and to be kind to everyone, always.
So real ... so on the edge
damonoldcorn31 May 2021
Staggering performance from a young actor that carrys the film. You can feel her pain despite her protesting to all that she has it covered. The fine supporting cast of the children and her mother make it so real. It's a sad story that you hope desperately for her to transcend through her comedy.
Wow.. powerful and heartbreaking
natcalgary2 September 2019
Just through this movie on to pass sometime and it turned out to move me in ways a movie hasn't for a long time.
I feel like this can and does actually happen all over the world which breaks my heart.
This is the story of a 15 year old who was forced to grow up way to fast.
I recommend this and would love to see another with this brilliant actress
7.9
I feel like this can and does actually happen all over the world which breaks my heart.
This is the story of a 15 year old who was forced to grow up way to fast.
I recommend this and would love to see another with this brilliant actress
7.9
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