You have to respect people who aren’t content with being dealt a crap hand. There are lots of people living and working below their station, and fully aware of it. Some of them dig in and work as hard as they can to move up and move out. Others, unfortunately, kick just as hard at the gloominess their life has become…but do so without thinking it through.

Such impulsive behaviour is the driving force of FISH TANK – one surprisingly good Brit movie from 2009.

FISH TANK is the story of 15 year-old Mia (played by newcomer Katie Jarvis). She lives in a ‘fish tank’ apartment in Essex – the sort of building where one whole wall is windows. She is being raised by a single mum, who doesn’t look like she was much older than fifteen when she had Mia, and is constantly bickering with her younger sister. Like many kids her age, Mia is antsy, and unfortunately it doesn’t take long for this feeling of antsiness to start getting her into trouble.

When she’s not getting into shoving matches with other girls in her neighbourhood, she’s trying to free a horse chained up in a vacant lot nearby (a stunt that inevitably gets her jumped). She’s the sort of girl who has starry-eyed dreams of being a dancer, but she can’t even seem to chase down her dreams in an honest manner.

The bulk of her problems come from the home though, where her mother has a new boyfriend named Connor (Michael Fassbender). Mia’s mother isn’t exactly discreet about her relationship, so Mia and her sister have this man dropped into their lives quite suddenly. Mia, never one to miss a trick, greets him to the household by stealing money from his coat. After she gets to know him however, the two actually get along quite nicely. That lasts for about an hour until their association takes a rather bad turn.

What amazes me about FISH TANK is how unconcerned it is with explaining itself. We are quite literally dropped into the middle of Mia’s life one day, seeing that she is isolated in restless – we aren’t told why she is, we just know that she is. The film isn’t concerned with spelling anything out, it instead points us towards the necessary information and lets us figure things out for ourselves.

What amazes me about the film is the overall unsettling tone. I couldn’t help but feel for much of the film that I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. It felt like I’d wandered into the wrong part of town and started hanging around people who were minutes away from lighting one fuse or another. Not to say that such feelings of unease comes with crossing a class line – more that Mia’s actions, and her relationship with Cameron kept me in a constant state of dread. Something always felt…..”off”.

For the second review in a row, it’s a young actress who has my attention. This time the feat is even more impressive, given the lack of experience Katie Jarvis brings to the film. She has the sand of a lower class teen; the sort of girl whose mom isn’t all that much older than she is, and has never known a home life that doesn’t have neighbours densely wrapped on all sides. She’s in absolutely every moment of this film and never loses our attention – impressive for a novice. Perhaps the reason why we’re so enraptured with her, is because she never seems completely sure what she’s going to do next.

It’s one thing to watch a car wreck – it’s something altogether different to watch a car do a few swerves and donuts before it hits the brick wall.

Perhaps this is what makes Mia’s story in FISH TANK such a sad one. At fifteen years old, she’s old enough to make some truly bad decisions, but not old enough to truly understand their implications. She didn’t learn her lesson the first time, and continues on through her life as the girl with a hammer looking for a horse to free.

Matineescore: ★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of ★ ★ ★ ★
What did you think? Please leave comments with your thoughts and reactions on FISH TANK.

11 Replies to “FISH TANK”

  1. It sure is an incredible film – Sarah wants to buy it went it goes a little down in price (in fact, due to this very post, I might buy it for her thus we can both watch it earlier … present/in good books with Sarah AND watch a film I wanted to watch again since I saw it at the cinema…)

    I haven't written a review of it yet but, without giving away some information I found out prior to the films release you should look into (a) how Kate Jervis was cast and (b) how Andrea Arnold 'dealt' out the script on-set … all very interesting, making the entire film even more fascinating to watch again.

    Simon

    Blog: http://knowingviews.blogspot.com/
    Podcast: http://simonandjofilmshow.podomatic.com/

  2. I really need to see this. Saw some reviews calling it slow, and self mopey, which turned me off to it. Though I feel if it's strong enough story wise I'll enjoy it. Maybe I'll check it out in the coming weeks (time pending, which it hasn't recently).

  4. @ Simon… When I review, I tend to have a page like iMDB or Wikipedia open so I can have details easily acessible. Thus I read about both bits you just mentioned.

    Both of them are amazing to know, and I'm sure contributed to the film's feel of authenticity.

    You should still try and write something on it – I'd really be interested to read your take.

    @ Univarn… It's a little slow in unfolding, but it'll draw you in. Do make a point of seeing it, you can thank me later.

    @ Tom… Did you write a piece on it? I'd be interested to read it if you did.

  6. I've not seen this, and truthfully I don't why but I'm not really that anxious (even though your review, like many praises it).

  7. Jarvis and Fassbender were terrific, but Arnold's story is painfully familiar and predictable. I also found Jarvis' character to be completely uninteresting and underwritten.

    Considering the critical acclaim, I was surprised that the film developed so generically. In one scene, she's fighting her peers, so we're supposed to feel her anger; in the next, she's petting a horse, so we're supposed to feel her tenderness. It's all well-intentioned, but it's just nothing I haven't seen before.

  8. Glad you finally got to see it. I think you know by now how much I liked it, it only just missed out on my top ten (#12) last year and I gave it movie of the month back in September ahead of 500 Days of Summer, District 9 and Adventureland. If you think it has an “unsettling tone” take a look at Andrea Arnold’s other movie Red Road (2006). I know you don’t read reviews until you have written your own, this is my review from last year. By the way its great to see a film before you for once!

  9. @ Tom… Lookin' forward to it!

    @ Andrew… Sorry, no sale. I won't try to tell you that you MUST see it…but I am very curious to know what it is about the film that leaves you uninterested.

    @ Danny… In many moments you know what's coming, but I don't think that makes the whole film predictable. Mia's angst makes her motivations very difficult to call…for instance, I'm sure none of us saw her most deplorable act coming until it happened.

    Did you review this one? I'd be really interested to read what you wrote.

    @ Number Six… Glad I can give you a chest-thumping moment in being so ahead of the curve. In a way I'm glad I have a good handful of Brit friends now so they can point out these sort of movies for me.

    Pardon me while I go read your review!

  11. Great review, Hatter, I've read a few other positive reviews of this flick so I definitely will check it out once it drops on Netflix. I've heard about Red Road before but this one sounds like it's a bit easier to watch, though it's probably still intense. I can see how the slow pace and somber mood can turn some people off, but for me, if the performances are terrific & the story intriguing enough, I'm willing to give it a shot. Plus, it's got Michael Fassbender, so on that note, it's definitely watchable 🙂

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