DVD Review of BAFTA 2010's Outstanding British Film, 'Fish Tank'
Spending her days practising her routine in an abandoned flat, Essex teenager Mia (Katie Jarvis) aspires to be a professional dancer. The only thing holding her back is the life she was born into - living in a run-down estate with her selfish mother (Kierston Wareing) and mouthy younger sister, Mia's life lacks any kind of affection or guidance. Then, when mum's magnetic new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender) enters her life, everything changes.
It's easy to see comparisons between Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold's second feature, and her previous film, mystery thriller Red Road . Red Road, about a woman eking out a lonely existence in one of Scotland's poorest areas, offers similarly uncomfortable truths about Britain's ignored pockets of poverty. And, as in Fish Tank, Red Road's portrayal of life on the edge never makes for easy viewing.
Where the two films differ is that while Red Road features characters that are much too tough to care for - a hard watch made harder by having some ugly human beings as our protagonists - this is a mistake Arnold doesn't repeat with Fish Tank. The inhabitants of Fish Tank all have their faults, fighting, cursing and deceiving each other at will, but we always remain sympathetic.
Based on Arnold's original screenplay, the material, despite the depiction of life in a run-down community being just as gruelling as in her debut, is never less than gripping. The streets are littered with refuse and disenchanted youths and our representative is a cider-swilling 15 year-old with an attitude problem - Mia's first encounter with her mum's charming new boyfriend sees her simply reject his kindness with harsh dismissal.
Soon though, Mia begins to let her guard down, her suspicions regarding Connor's friendliness slowly dissolving as she comes to realise its sincerity. Her scepticism is understandable - this is the only person in her life that isn't as filled with rage or confusion as she is.
With her life lacking any sort of father figure, Mia doesn't know how to respond to an older man's kindliness. As Connor and Mia share some increasingly awkward moments, the surrogate father and daughter's closeness begins to over-step the boundaries of an appropriate relationship and Fish Tank forces viewers to ask themselves some very difficult questions.
And if Connor hadn't been cast correctly, he could have come across as a creep, but the always dependable Michael Fassbender manages to invest all his usual charm and charisma. Thanks to Fassbender, we simultaneously believe Connor's attraction to and his fatherly treatment of Mia. So too the rare glints of vulnerability and anger - what initially seems like the perfect man to Mia step-by-step reveals his flaws. This is, like any man, someone with faults, and it's Fassbender's finest performance yet.
Katie Jarvis, in her debut role, is just as startling. Mia is a difficult character to portray - this is a confused girl aspiring for a better life but trapped by her environment, hiding her many insecurities behind a vicious veil - and Jarvis plays her brilliantly.
Arnold also finds place amidst the grime for some gorgeous cinematography. The problem with most social realist dramas is their often grotty look - although the oppressive setting of Fish Tank isn't the most pleasant to look at, Arnold manages to find some stark beauty in amongst the ugliness of dreary suburban life.
Which can't be said for the film as a whole. The residents of Fish Tank's estate do nothing but torment each other for two hours and after such a length of time, getting beaten into submission by Andrea Arnold's bleak vision of life down South, the ending offers little extra hope.
Not that it feels unnecessarily downbeat for the sake of effect - it just feels real. You'll come through at the end, exhausted, but knowing you've watched one of the best films of the past few years. If you have any interest in British cinema, watch this film as soon as possible.
See the trailer below.
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Karl Benecke - is a third year Film Journalism student at the University of Huddersfield.
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Brogan Morris - is also a third year Film Journalism student at the University of Huddersfield.
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