Fish Tank - Movie review

When I was doing my A’level Communication Studies, we did a module on Ken Loach and one of the films we watched was Family Life starring Sandy Ratcliff (who went on to play Sue in Eastenders – she must be a glutton for punishment) about a young woman who is forced into an abortion by her parents and then descends into mental breakdown. It was at the time labelled as the most depressing film ever made. I’m not sure if it is still considered that, but I have to say Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank comes a close second if it is. My recollections of Andrea Arnold is of the bubbly haired children’s TV presenter on No.73 so it comes as a bit of shock to find her behind the lens of this misery-fest.

Fish Tank tells the story of fifteen year old Mia (Katie Jarvis), who has been kicked out of school and is living in a skanky council flat with an equally skanky mother and a little sister with a mouth so foul, she could give Bobb’e J Thompson in Role Models a run for his money. Mia is a loner whose only outlet in life is to do hip hop dancing in an abandoned flat on her estate. Into her life comes Connor (Michael Fassbender), her mother’s latest squeeze. A sexy, charming Irishman who is seducer, father figure and predatory ephebophiliac rolled into one. The sexual chemistry between him and Mia crackles along and you can never quite tell if he’s grooming her or it’s a genuine attraction he can’t fight. At the same time Mia becomes friends with Kyle (Harry Treadaway) a young Gypsy boy who saves her from being raped.

With these men in her life, Mia slowly transforms from sulky child-woman to a young girl having to deal with the pressures and heartaches that adult life brings and all without the support of a mother or friends. Katie Jarvis (an unknown plucked off the streets by Arnold) is a revelation, acting the socks off actresses twice her age with a lifetime of experience and a degree in dramatic arts. I predict great things for her.

The downside is that you get the feeling Arnold is just trying too hard. There are several shots of landscapes that last for what feels like thirty seconds, with nothing at all happening. There is very little humour in this film, in comparison to say Shane Meadows’ This is England, that while dealing with a depressing subject matter, still contains moments of hilarity, mainly coming from Thomas Turgoose playing the little big man. I get the feeling Arnold is trying to be taken seriously and so has gone over the top in piling on the misery. The film contains everything; underage sex, profanity, ten year olds smoking, underage drinking. Name a shock factor and Fish Tank has it in abundance.

The upside is that it is realistic; low budget but doesn’t show it; the improvised dialogue lends an air of authenticity and I would put money on the supporting artists being local, Barking residents which makes it seem real. Added to this, the use of Bobby Womack in the soundtrack has made me revisit his back catalogue – and you know what. It’s really good!