Review of Fish Tank (2009) by Edward B — 18 Mar 2011

Seeing a movie like Fish Tank makes you realize that you can't look to the Oscars to tell you what the best films of the year are.

Where was the best actress nomination for Katie Jarvis?

Or the original screenplay nod to Andrea Arnold, whose writing is as good as her directing. She tells the story of an angst-ridden teen, living in the worst of conditions in an England slum, but she does it through observation. The scene is the scene and viewers may interpret it in different ways.

The characters are heavily flawed, but are also good people. You can sympathize with them, hate them, love them, wish that you could help them, or wish ill on them. Movies like this require an active audience, one that won't be told by a film how to feel. But you will feel something while watching this movie. The story is powerful and completely gripping, a far better film than almost every best picture nominee at the 2011 Oscars.

While it may not always be the case with other films, Fish Tank is a very good reason why the best films you'll ever see are the ones floating under everyone's radar, because these are the films made with a voice, not a studio marketing team.