Review of Little Fish (2005) by Jack M — 19 Jul 2007

Thank goodness. I had lost all hope in these films about relationships - they continue to fail and completely forget that the first thing you need for a film is a plot.

But Little Fish has remembered! Oh how happy I am to finally see a good film in this genre. The producers and scriptwriters have remembered that the first thing any film needs is a plot. And it has a good one. Not a great one, but it will do.

Then they've worked on the characterisation. And then the relationships. And then the plot development. And it's all a puzzle which fits very nicely together.

Cate Blanchett puts in another one of her stunning performances, and she's fast becoming my favourite female Hollywood lead actress. I mean she's just superb in everything. And I haven't even seen Babel yet.

She plays Tracy Heart, a manager of a video rental shop, living with her mother in rented accomodation. Her parents split years ago, although she still maintains a relationship with her step-father, Lionel (Hugo Weaving). She's a former heroine addict, and her mother no longer speaks to Lionel, as he was the one who first gave her drugs.

She's looking to raise 40,000 Austrailian dollars to expand the business and take ownership, but her past criminal offences stop her from getting a loan, and as she looks to raise the money from somewhere else, various people from her past come back to make her life even more difficult.

Although this is a very good film, I do have some concerns. It's not very watchable. You won't sit down and think to yourself, ah I know, I'll watch Little Fish. It won't happen. It can also be boring in parts, so you need stamina if you want to get from start to finish.

But if you can get past that and see this film for what it is, you'll have seen something very good. It surprised me how good it was also from an international point of view. I've seen many Austrailian films in the past and often found them to be very poor, but this is certainly the best I've seen from down under. I think it's wonderful how so many top actors also sign on to do them. Blanchett and Weaving know full well they could make more money in America doing something else, and Sam Neill could also be doing something 'better' with his time. It's similar to a film called Candy, featuring Heath Ledger and Geoffery Rush, two wonderful actors taking time to feature in just a film festival entry.

It's hard to compare Little Fish to a film I've seen. I can't compare it to Jindabyne because Jindabyne has no plot, and is also awful. And while Lost In Translation is anything but awful, it lacks a plot.

All I know is that Little Fish is a wonderful film. The target audience is quite specific - I wouldn't see it unless you're a very mature person (Sorry, I don't mean to patronise or insult, I'm just trying to save you time). It's not a film for teenagers, and I say that simply because it's a near two-hour film, which can be very boring in parts. It's a film adults can appreciate and enjoy, but it's just not for a younger audience.