Review of Fish Tank (2009) by Conner R — 29 Aug 2011

I wasn't all that surprised that Fish Tank was a great movie, but that I was able to empathize with a 15-year-old aspiring hip-hop dancer who fantasizes about having sex with her mom's boyfriend.

That's when you know a character is well put together and has a great performance to back it up. Katie Jarvis gave one of those performances that feels completely realistic, but totally shocking that she's not a professional actor and had next to no experience prior.

It's almost mind boggling how talented she is when you consider that. The movie could have really failed and not nearly been as engaging without her doing what she did in the role. I felt like this was a real person and the camera was just following her around her neighborhood.

Connecting with what could be a repulsive character is also really something that should be addressed. Not only was I really pulling for her to do well at her dance audition, but I honestly found myself agreeing with most of the decisions she made.

Michael Fassbender was also pretty flawless here and it's easy to see where a character like his could've gone in a completely different direction if he didn't give the performance he did.

The whole relationship with these characters was extremely interesting and puts something like An Education to shame. It's amazing how more realistic and shocking things can get when you take away certain human qualities.

Where this dares to go is important and I think it's a brave step. A lot of movies are frightened to address or even play around a taboo subject, but this does it almost effortlessly. Every moment feels natural and that makes it all the more effective to watch.

To add to this movie's great characterization and subject matter, it has some amazing cinematography. The way this movie looks is incredible and captures almost a documentary realism with the movement and angels you see.

However, the quality of the image is so well put together and beautiful that it doesn't feel cheap and forgettable. The way it captures the backdrop is so important to why the characters and story works the way it does.

Without it, you'd only have the content to focus on; which is a total cheat when you're working with a highly visual medium.