MUBI

One of the most honest and gritty examples of great British film-making, Fish Tank is not your regular troubled youth drama. It’s about much, much more than that. The themes of isolation and the need for love are at the forefront of the drama, but they are very subtly used and hidden behind drugs, alcohol and an irresponsible mother figure.
The real beauty of Fish Tank is that for sure. The subtly of these themes are expertly used, and despite the profanity that the lead protagonist Mia spouts out are never there for shock but for the simple reason that this how these people distinguish their anger in the way that life has treated them.
The performances from the highly talented Michael Fassbender who portrays a resolute, dependable 30-something unfaithful husband and young talent Katie Jarvis who takes on the lead role of Mia; a troubled youth with aspirations of becoming a dancer are both a sight to see for their honest and downright incredible portrayals of these difficult human beings whose actions throughout are strange, but always answered and never over-the-top to outright shock the audience.
An important film for sure. A real piece of art from Andrea Arnold.

A very brief meditation on the film…

The first parts of this film simply depict the girl wandering. She seems to be moving about aimlessly. In a physical sense, she is. However, in a more meaningful way, she is coming closer to the depressing life that inevitably awaits her. Andrea Arnold has crafted a snapshot of a girl’s move from one phase of her existence to the next, carried out in a most painful manner. Calling this film a “coming-of-age” tale would not completely do it justice. There is a special, lucid quality to the film that creates an air of gravity. Most movies billed as “coming-of-age” pictures are often dreamy and unreal. Fish Tank, on the other hand, maintains realism without coming close to the realm of misery porn. The actors are able to tap into the true essence of the characters, eliciting emotional investment from the audience. The scenery is plain, but aesthetically pleasing, and photographed very well. Perhaps the most potent aspect of the film was the tumultuous bond between mother and daughter. Their relationship is reflective. The mother sees how she once was, while the daughter must face who she seems destined to be. I must be honest in saying that this film does not feel especially relevant to my life, but I cannot deny its quality. Anyone who has had the cold hand of reality pull them away from the perplexing state of adolescence can relate to this admirable work of cinema.

SPOILERS***

If I’ve taken away anything from Andrea Arnold’s films, it’s this: I’m glad I watch them alone. I don’t even think I want to watch Fish Tank or Red Road with my girlfriend…Arnold’s films are incredibly engrossing and challenging, but both films also feature female centers who get caught up in grotesque situations. In Red Road, our female hero was actually the fucked up one, who forced herself into the dilemma. In Fish Tank, however, we have a 15-year-old impressionable girl who is influenced by those around her and explores the world of sex and alcohol with her mother’s boyfriend, Connor.

Oh yeah, and Connor’s, like, 30-years-old. Maybe older? Does it matter? Doubling your sex partner’s age is usually grounds for speculation. And it’s troubling to watch our main character, Mia (Katie Jarvis), dabble in such provocative activities in a setting where rules barely exist. The film has little story, but instead purely focuses on Mia’s excursions, which include drinking, sex, stealing and a whole lot of dancing. Not dirty dancing though; you know, actual dancing. Whatever the kids are doing nowadays.

So that’s my plot synopsis. Hope you’re satisfied…anyway, in regards to the dancing: it’s the one admirable and promising aspect of Mia. Dancing exposes her dreams, her weaknesses and her buried emotions. She’s the daughter from hell, who resembles a younger Lily Allen (hell, she probably acts like a younger Lily Allen) and is hell-bent on being rebellious. But she doesn’t even know why she wants to be rebellious—other than it pisses her mom off. But when Mia dances, from auditioning to performing in front of the television, her face changes. Her eyebrows unfurl; she loosens up; she calms down. It’s the only time we see her motivated to succeed.

We’ll come back to the dancing. Surrounded by the dancing, which itself takes up a very small part of the film, Mia experiences of a lot of confliction. As a teenager who could not begin to understand the consequences and complexity of sex, pop culture and her mom’s slutty friends constantly lead her astray. Mia watches a man finger a woman in her kitchen, and then she watches Connor and her mother passionately have sex. Her perception of sex is so distorted and fantastical that by the time she’s taken advantage of by Connor (Michael Fassbender), the reality of the situation comes across frightfully poignant.

Mia’s crush on Connor reveals her for the wonderful person she is and we rarely get to see. Arnold creates three incredibly beautiful and memorable instances involving Mia and Connor that reveal Mia as a romantic. The first is when Connor gives her a piggyback ride, the second involving Mia sniffing Connor’s cologne, and the third when she watches his clothes dry tenderly in the wind. In these scenes time slows down, but the sound remains normal, creating a slight delay between the action and dialogue. It creates a hazy, wistful moment where Mia using her senses amorously and we understand her feelings.

It’s these moments that separate an Arnold character study from most films. Nothing is ever thrown in your face or presented in a nice package with a bow; the emotion exists within Mia, yet we feel every aching instance in her struggle with reality. Fish Tank is very much about the person Mia is versus who she wants to be; yet we know exactly what road she’s heading down as the film approaches its inevitable climax. We’d like to think Mia wouldn’t crack under the pressure of sex; but she gives in. We’d like to think Connor is the good guy he presents himself to be; but he isn’t. And despite our defensive intentions for the characters, they end up becoming real people engaging in something cruel that is very much part of our own reality. Despite all these factors, we are nonetheless tortured by the film’s images and forced to deal along with Mia.

It doesn’t help that Arnold uses every simple trick to engage the audience with the environment. The scene where Mia and her younger sister smoke and drink in their room is a great example. They watch the television loop its endless trash, which resonates in the background while Arnold flashes still shots of toys, stickers and bright colors that contrast the situation at hand. Oh, and the damn caged hamster that perfectly reflects Mia’s depressing situation. We are trapped in this unforgiving world with Mia, and my God if it isn’t fucking frustrating.

Watching Mia discover Connor has a secret family is like experiencing an entirely different film. Mia’s reaction is stunning, as she opts to “kidnap” Connors daughter. It becomes clear that Mia doesn’t even know why she does this, as she keeps leading the girl further and further away from home with no destination in mind. Mia throws the girl into the river, which seems to be her way of inflicting physical pain on Connor. But the whole scenario, including its conclusion of Connor finding Mia and slapping her, represents Mia’s cleansing; the smack brought her back to reality. What was she doing with her life? I mean I know she’s just a kid, but talk about wasted youth. As a child who spent the better part of her days causing mischief, Mia’s giant does of reality opens her eyes and helps her mature.

We see it in the film’s conclusion, where Mia goes to her dancing audition with Connor’s favorite song as her backdrop. She’s dressed in a baggy sweat suit as she looks out on her adversely dressed competition, and she suddenly realizes dancing no longer holds the promise she once associated it with. She grew up longingly watching music videos and popular girls from school dance, and somewhere in the ambition, the passion was lost. Did dancing have to be a career? But then we see Mia, as she is leaving for school, approach her mother to say goodbye. They don’t physically embrace, but instead they dance with each other, never breaking eye contact or concentration. It’s so incredibly moving…I hate even trying to describe it. It’s the perfect icing on the cake; much more dazzling and cogent than any hug, kiss or cheesy movie quote could ever strive to be.

Read more reviews at http://cinemabeans.blogspot.com/

This film is one of those diamonds in the rough, That you want everyone to witness. It catches you off guard. That would also perfectly describe the lead character a girl named Mia. Who is so full of rage at everyone. She seems to only be at peace in dancing (I know it sounds like a female STEP-UP but trust me it’s deeper then that).

Her mother wears shorter skirts then she does. Her mother seems to also put her dalliances with men above her own children. She was also the same age as her daughter when she had her child and forced to grow up fast but now seems that since her kids can take care of themselves it’s her time to have a bit of fun. Her mother also seems to be a alcoholic. Then one day a savior comes to the family in the form of a man the mother brings home who actually seems to take a interest in all of them. At first Mia treats him badly suspecting him of wanting something. He eventually wins them over. He seems to be the one who is going to make things better. Her friendship with him soon develops into friendship, then obsession. Which becomes confusing when he returns her feelings.
The film then seems like it is going to cross the line into a taboo romance. Then things turn haywire as secrets are discovered. Which may lead to tragedy.

Through it all the film stays emotionally truthful. It is a coming of age tale, but not your typical one. This one seems a bit more brutal. It works as a drama though at times it feels almost like a thriller.

The film plays like a kitchen sink drama, But seems more to the point and not so interested in minimalism. The film still never presents a false note. The films throws a lot of balls up in the air. Thankfully none drop to the ground and break

Mention must be made of the actors. Katie Jarvis is a natural in her first film as the lead she captivates you as you generally begin to care about her and cringe when she makes a wrong decision. Since you know her character has good instincts. She is truly believable which since she is a newcomer is made easier as there are no other roles or films to cloud your judgement and take you out of the film. Michael Fassbender other then being a great actor must have the best agent in the world, Good natural instincts when it comes to material or is very lucky because whenever I see him in a film it is phenomenal like HUNGER and INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. Here he is mesmerizing as a character who is charismatic and even when we see his bad side we can’t fully hate.

Director Andrea Arnold is a true visionary. Who I look forward to further work from.

This film while long totally grabs you from the opening frames. It is long but the film seems to pass so quickly you never really notice. It’s one of those films where you really want to know what will happen to the characters after the end. You hold out hope for them and get a general sense they will be ok. But then again like the film. It could surprise you and the decisions could come out of nowhere and throw each of them off balance.

While not the happiest film. It gives you some kind of hope that this girl will be alright and make her way in the world.

I highly suggest the film and it is a worthy addition to your film library. See it as a gift to yourself.

The movie starts out and we are treated immediately to row after row as Mia (Jarvis) walks about the town picking fights with basically anybody that comes into her path. Quite quickly, her home is shown as a small apartment with three women, Mia, her mother, and her sister living too close together for space and too far apart emotionally, with alcoholism predominant in all of their lives no matter their ages, and little patience for anybody. Mia’s mother then brings home Connor (Fassbender), another in what is inferred as a long line of men, only this guy seems kind of nice and actually bothers to reach out to everyone in the family. Of course at this point in the movie, nobody’s expecting it to be a clean-cut family drama with the new man bringing everyone together and teaching the girls how to be family again, because Andrea Arnold’s tracking handheld camera and cold symmetrical cinematography has already indicated that we’re in kitchen-sink realism territory, and Connor’s own appearance is suspicious as what kind of simplistic good natured lout would get involved in this family? From there, the camera tracks a not unexpected, but still personable and engaging, story of a 15 year old girls’ first romance and her frustrated struggles with her own emotions.

Considering the dancing and the videotaping as part of the subject of the movie, there is a hint of autobiography in this movie from director Arnold, though in what coming-of-age-story isn’t? Of all the random movies this reminded me of, I was actually thrown back to Walkabout, Nicolas Roeg’s own coming-of-age story that also featured a girl and her growing emotions and sexuality, though in a completely different environment. The reason why I felt such a similarity is mostly because in both movies the characters are in positions that can get them very, very hurt, but they manage to survive and strive through all of it. Here, it was actually refreshing that Mia did not end up raped, mutilated, or overdosed on something, considering that these days directors seem to like to throw in such things as “gritty realism” when sometimes people are perfectly capable of fending for themselves, thank you very much. Mia is precocious, but has enough sense of self-preservation to know how to keep herself safe. If anything, her real problem is opening up to people. This is a much more dynamic and interesting story.

Michael Fassbender is certainly making himself popular these days, what with his roles in Inglourious Basterds, Hunger, and this. Here his greatest feat is maintaining sympathy as a man who really is a good guy despite the fact that he gives away to immorality and abuses his position, or as an immoral man who manages to understand that what he’s doing is wrong and he needs to stop from the path he’s taking, whichever way you want to look at it. The point is, he is a very realistic character and is neither a hero nor a villian, and what makes Connor’s relationship with Mia so interesting is that they really do reciprocate a need for each other, it’s just that Connor understands he cannot do it and Mia refuses to see the reason why. Again, much better than a Lifetime Network special where Connor would have just taken advantage and abused Mia and that would be that. Feelings are more complicated here.

—PolarisDiB

After seeing ‘WASP’ and ‘Red Road’ I was hooked on Andrea Arnold’s raw, pure sense of cinema. There was something so complex about the way she portrayed the confusion and evils that lie inside the lives of very normal people, her eye for human details more refined than those of Iñarritu and as devastating as Loach. "Fish Tank’ has some very wonderful moments that chronicle the sexual awakening of its young hero and her frustrations with those around her. Her love for her mother’s boyfriend is mixed between passion and paternal adoration and her apathy for her mother is lined with longing. There is great writing here and marvelous performances from the cast, yet unlike the her contemporaries none of them really seem to stick. If reality is what Arnold was aiming for it is too mundane and its shocks all feel as jagged as a pounding fist trying to wake our interests. This film is really a testament to Arnold’s eye for capturing true to life moments, her cinematographer’s stunning dexterity, and her lead’s flawless performance. There is nothing new in the Fish Tank however, no deeper insights, or moving stories. Only life as it is. And I’ll take that over whatever slop is being billed ‘a true coming of age story’ from Hollywood any day.

Fish Tank adalah sebuah film drama karya sutradara asal Inggris, Andrea Arnold. Arnold sendiri pernah memenangkan Academy Awards di kategori Best Live Action Short untuk film pendeknya di tahun 2004, Wasp. Fish Tank sendiri merupakan film layar lebar kedua Arnold setelah Red Road di tahun 2007.

Berkisah mengenai Mia (Katie Jarvis), seorang gadis penyendiri berusia 15 tahun dengan hidup yang sangat bermasalah. Ia baru saja dikeluarkan dari sekolah, dibenci oleh para gadis-gadis di lingkungannya karena sikapnya dan hubungannya dengan ibu, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), dan adiknya, Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths), juga rentan dengan konflik dan pertengkaran. Satu-satunya cara bagi Mia untuk melarikan diri dari gelapnya hidup adalah dengan melakukan hobinya, menari.

Kehidupan Mia dan keluarganya mulai berubah ketika sang ibu berpacaran dengan Connor (Michael Fassbender), seorang pria yang bekerja sebagai anggota tim keamanan di sebuah toko. Connor yang bersikap sangat kebapakan diam-diam berhasil menarik hati Mia dan Tyler, yang seumur hidup belum pernah merasakan kasih sayang seorang figur ayah. Namun, perlahan-lahan, rasa kagum Mia terhadap Connor berubah menjadi rasa cinta antara seorang wanita dengan seorang pria.

Hubungannya yang dekat dengan Connor membuat Mia sering merasa cemburu ketika Connor harus tidur dan bersama dengan sang ibu. Walau begitu, Connor juga mulai memberikan perhatian lebih kepada Mia, hingga akhirnya suatu malam, ketika Joanne sedang mabuk dan tak sadarkan diri di kamarnya, Mia dan Connor berhubungan intim. Ketika keesokan harinya terbangun, Mia mendengar Joanne terbangun dan terkejut ketika adiknya mengatakan bahwa Connor baru saja memutuskan hubungannya dengan sang ibu.

Mendengar hal itu, Mia mendatangi kediaman Connor dan menemukan bahwa ternyata Connor telah menikah dan memiliki seorang putri. Antara merasa patah hati dan tertekan, Mia kemudian membawa lari putri Connor, Keira (Sydney Mary Nash), dan hampir saja membahayakan nyawa gadis kecil tersebut.

Kalau mau sedikit membanding-bandingkan dengan film-film lain yang rilis di sepanjang tahun 2009 lalu, Fish Tank mungkin akan sedikit menyentuh tema hal yang sama dengan yang disentuh oleh Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire atau An Education, dimana yang satu mengisahkan buruknya antara hubungan antara seorang anak dengan orangtuanya sedangkan yang satunya mengisahkan tentang seorang gadis muda yang jatuh cinta dengan seorang pria yang jauh lebih tua. Walau begitu, Fish Tank memiliki caranya endiri untuk meraih para penontonnya.

Dibawakan dengan sudut pandang seorang Mia secara keseluruhan, Fish Tank pada awalnya mungkin ditangkap para penontonnya seperti sebuah catatan kemarahan seorang gadis remaja yang merasa terasing dari dunia luar. Namun lama-kelamaan cerita mulai berubah menjadi sebuah perjuangan gadis remaja untuk memenangkan hati seorang pria, yang tidak lain merupakan kekasih sang ibu, dan kemudian malah berakhir tragis setelah mengetahui siapa sang pria tersebut sebenarnya. Dan untuk karakter yang dipenuhi oleh berbagai gejolak ini, Katie Jarvis mampu memberikan penampilan yang sangat emosional. Jarvis, seperti halnya Carey Mulligan (An Education) dan Gabourey Sidibe (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire), merupakan nyawa utama dari Fish Tank. Dan sama seperti dua rekan sejawatnya tersebut, Jarvis mampu memberikan sentuhan yang kuat untuk karakternya sebagai Mia.

Walau berpusat pada Mia, para karakter pendukung di film ini juga memberikan pengaruh yang tidak kalah kuatnya kepada jalan cerita yang dihadirkan. Mulai dari karakter Joanne, ibu Mia yang sepertinya sangat membenci kehadiran Mia di dalam hidupnya, Connor, kekasih ibunya yang perlahan-lahan mulai bereaksi terhadap perhatian Mia, hingga Tyler, adik Mia, yang walau sering terlihat berkelahi dengannya namun (seperti yang terlihat di ending film) sangat disayangi oleh Mia. Karakter-karakter inilah yang menghidupkan seluruh permasalahan yang meliputi kehidupan Mia, sekaligus menjadi bagian ‘penyelesaian’ dari permasalahan tersebut.

Berjalan dengan ritme sedang, dan terkadang lamban, Fish Tank adalah sebuah film lain yang menghadirkan kisah bagaimana seorang remaja melalui masa transisinya menuju kedewasaan, yang seperti kisah-kisah lainnya, dipenuhi dengan kisah merengganggnya hubungan dengan orang tua serta kisah percintaan pertama mereka. Memberikan penampilan yang sangat meyakinkan dari pendatang baru Katie Jarvis, dan dibantu dengan sederetan pemeran lainnya, Fish Tank, menjadikan Fish Tank sebagai salah satu film drama terbaik sepanjang tahun lalu.

Rating: 4 / 5

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan salvages Arnold’s routine, and manipulative second feature length film. Less a sophomore slump than a misfire. Andrea Arnold has the goods with a great cinematographer, talent for shaping performances and a knack for unnerving sexual situations but 2/3’s of the way through her film it falls flat on it’s face and never recovers. The film lost me after the boyfriend fucks her. I don’t know if Andrea realized how good her movie was up till that point, but I saw the wheels turning and the conventions of narrative starting to form which detracted from a loose structure that was so much more interesting. The scene at the strip club was painfully manipulative, along with the near drowning of the the little girl. Also, the main character become completely unlikable at that point which left her ending empty.

It’s hard not to compare Andrea Arnold to her peers in style and subject matter, from Lynne Ramsay, Catherine Adler and Ken Loach. Like the work of these filmmakers, the strong British nature of Fish Tank resonates much further than the nation of its origin.

Following the coming of age of a young girl living hard in England’s wastelands, Fish Tank is an exploration of dreams and desire as much as coming to terms with a society you don’t want to understand.

Hate, naivety and ultimately the need for love and affection drive the story as 15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) attempts to find a way to keep moving along with her mother’s self-obsession, younger sister’s rebellion and the short-lived halcyon days when her mother brings home a charming new boyfriend.

Shot in 4:3 it’s not the larger than life cinematic production that is so common these days, but the style suits the subject perfectly and allows you to stop thinking about the filmmaking and get into the story being told so carefully and thoughtfully. Katie Jarvis is superb as the young Mia and from the jarring opening you quickly join her team.

Fish tank is a great example of independent cinema and hopefully one that many will get to see.

1.
“Fish Tank” es una película de distintas formas de asfixia. Asfixia familiar, asfixia social, asfixia interna. La asfixia también entendida como forma de encierro, como angustia que se va escondiendo, pero que no tarda en explotar por todos lados. Mia, uno de los peces mas grandes de esta pecera, es una adolescente con un futuro mas oscuro que brillante, que vive rodeada de tiburones que constantemente la quieren atrapar y hacerla su presa. El tiburón mayor, su madre, que parece tener la misma edad que su hija, esta completamente desconectada de su rol maternal y trata a sus hijas como si fueran sus hermanas. Connor, reciente novio de la madre, llega a la familia con la esperanza de cambiar las cosas. Mia parece conectar con él. Pero Connor es un tiburón disfrazado de cordero. El agua esta podrida. No hay nada mas que hacer, salvo pegarse la cabeza contra el vidrio

2.
La segunda película de Andrea Arnold tiene muchas reminiscencias con el cine de los Dardenne. La presencia de una protagonista femenina, que parece llevarse el mundo a sus espaladas mas la cámara que parece perseguirla, hacernos participes de su búsqueda de oxigeno, de un poco de potabilidad en un mundo podrido, son algunas de las huellas de esta influencia. Pero mas allá de eso, en Fish Tank se reconoce la huella de una cineasta a la que no le falta valor ni coraje por mostrar escenas de una impronta abrupta, de un realismo altisimamente crudo, golpeador. Un retrato de un Reino Unido abatido, donde los jóvenes parecen estar invisibles en un paisaje de edificios altos y de esperanza ausente. La cámara de Arnold da cuenta de todo este campo de ausencias varias sin nunca ponerse arriba de sus personajes: está con ellos, los entiende, los comprende, los acompaña en su recorrido.

3.
La gravedad parece suspenderse cuando Mia entra en contacto con Connor. Pero cuando esa suspensión se termina, el golpe contra el piso es cada vez más fuerte. Ella sabe que el estallido esta cerca y por eso se abraza a la explosión. Como su esperanza ya se perdió hace rato, Mia siente agrado por llevar las cosas hasta el limite mismo. La conocemos desatada: golpea a sus supuestas amigas, se escapa constantemente de su casa, su madre esta a punto de ponerla pupila en un colegio, corre e intenta robar un caballo blanco, símbolo de ese posible escape hacia zonas un poco menos contaminadas de todo esto. Mia es la extensión de Antoine Doinel, solamente que mas rudo. Es la culpa del tiempo, del futuro que nos toca, de todas las canciones de Morrissey a las que no hacemos mas que darles las razón: Come Armageddon, come”

4.
Mia baila. Pero extrañamente el baile, en vez de liberar, parece encerrar más. La presencia de la música durante la película es vital, pero también lleva a niveles claustrofóbicos. Mia baila de todas formas, baila hasta que se agota. El baile es una nueva forma de nadar. De salir a la superficie para volverse a sumergir. El escape finalmente llega. Un viaje, el viaje que la saca de esa cosecha estéril que es la ciudad, rumbo a otra; otra pecera, otra red. Un oxigeno momentáneo.