Review of Ratcatcher (1999) by Stuart K — 06 Feb 2015

The feature film debut of Lynne Ramsay, who had done a few short films which had been financed by BBC Scotland. Ratcatcher grew out of one of Ramsay's shorts, and it made quite an impact upon release.

While the setting may make it look like a hard hitting and gritty film, it has a poetic, sparse beauty about it. Rather like Terrence Malick's films have, and it has a haunting and eerie quality about it too.

Set in Glasgow in 1973, in the squalid and rundown suburb of Govan, which has horrible living conditions and families living in rundown estates. 12 year old James (William Eadie), who is coming to terms over the death of his friend Ryan (Thomas McTaggart) who drowned in a nearby canal.

James feels guilty for what happened, as he could have saved Ryan from drowning. To try and escape from the monotony of his squalid life and his family, he travels to the outskirts of Glasgow, and explores new estates being built, and he befriends Margaret Ann (Leanne Mullen), who is bullied by a local gang, and they find solace by hanging out together on the estate.

It's a film which requires patience, but it pays off in the end, and for a film populated with non-professional actors, they all give convincing and moving performances, while most films set in Glasgow have a stigma of being down and gritty, this has a fantastical quality that sets it aside.