Review of Fish Tank (2009) by Reuben M — 23 Mar 2013

15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) lives on an "estate" on the outskirts of London. If estate sounds fancy, it actually is the British equivalent of the projects. A tall, drab, run-down apartment building. She lives there with her mother Joanne and younger sister Tyler. Skinny and carrying some heavy acne, Mia spends her days wandering around the neighborhood and sneaking into an empty apartment so she can listen to music and work on her dancing. She's moody, foul-mouthed to the extreme, and deeply misses a kind presence in her life. Her mom makes no secret of the fact that her two children are nothing but a bother and interference in her social life. Mia apparently has no interest in school and quite frankly, doesn't seem to have much to offer the world.

This is the basic set up for the much -praised film from up-and-coming filmmaker Andrea Arnold. Shot in a hand-held style on a shoe-string budget, FISH TANK is interested in exploring the life (and inner-life) of this one specific teenager. She comes from poverty and neglect. She's not experienced much affection in her life. She's angry but also has impulses that draw her to beauty, whether towards a horse kept in a nearby deserted lot or for the simple pleasures of a drive into the country. Our initial reaction to Mia, whom we meet as the camera follows her wandering around the estate (Arnold spends A LOT of time literally following the jogging-suit-wearing Mia as she walks around), is not positive. "What a horrible brat!" is the first reaction, followed by a feeling that this young lady is a hopeless waste of anyone's time and energy.

Then her mother meets a guy, Connor (Michael Fassbender). Connor is handsome, charming, has a decent job and makes mom happy, which makes mom nicer. Connor also provides Mia with some much needed positive attention. He compliments her dancing. He takes the family to the country and shows them beautiful sights. We are shown how his simple attention awakens something in Mia. He is awakening hope. He is reminding Mia that gentle human contact is desirable. And he also appears to be stirring a physical response from Mia. The viewer can see that what Mia NEEDS is a father figure...but she is mistaking that need as a need for physical attention...for sex, perhaps.

The tension of this film (which is actually pretty palpable at times) is in the wondering where the relationship between these two is headed. Will they find their ways into appropriate roles? Or will the chemistry between them pollute what started out so well? And suddenly, we are rooting for Mia...because we see how the right choices could really turn things around.

The story-telling style, as I said, is to pretty much just follow Mia around, whether she is doing important things or mundane things. Young Katie Jarvis is a natural and even though she seems to be a typical sullen teenager, she lets us see enough on her face to understand that her inner-life is a bit richer and more complex than her exterior. It's one of the most convincing portrayals of a teenager I've seen. However, Director Arnold does spend just a bit too much time photographing Mia walking. Of two hour running time, I think we spend 20 minutes just watching Mia stroll around. That's 10 minutes too much. The filmmaker is perhaps just a bit too much in love with her naturalistic filming style and forgets that she's also making a piece of entertainment.

All the acting is good. Fassbender, before he became a rising star, is virile and charming. All the minor performers come across well. This is a tiny little story, but told with great conviction and commitment...resulting in a surprisingly gripping movie.

The Criterion Blu-ray is excellent as always. The filming uses natural light, and the blu ray captures that well, for better and worse. The bonus materials are decent but uninspired. However, the essay included in the booklet is great...it puts the film into perspective into the larger genre of "exploring British lower-class life via naturalistic filming" that folks like Ken Loach made so resonant. But it also deeply explores the film and illuminates what makes it unique and what makes it work so well.