#24 We just watched this on Netflix streaming.You should too!:

Fish Tank

The Film: Fish Tank

I was expecting to watch this movie halfheartedly as I was going to sleep but found myself rewinding parts and was truly engaged in the movie. I consider it a little masterpiece in many ways. It has an atmosphere so many films attempt to have and that so many fail to capture. I think it would have been an Oscar contender if made in the USA. It follows the exploits of a young girl, Mia, as she lives out a life of hopelessness, poverty, and criminality, in an English project.

Why to watch it: Katie Jarvis as Mia

She is so fucking good. She had no prior acting experience, but had lived in the projects and seems to really have the same volatile personality as her character. Famously, she was discovered while having a heated argument with her boyfriend. In many ways this movie will be compared to movies like Thirteen and other teens- in-trouble films.

But I still feel the authenticity of this movie is so genius that those films don’t even come close. There doesn’t seem to be any apologies or shock here. It just is what it is. Kate Jarvis brings authenticity to the movie I don’t think many Hollywood actresses could. With all respect intended, she is trashy. There isn’t a pretty girl who went to NYU film school behind those snarled teeth and sweatpants.

Another movie that comes to mind is Kes. I’ve heard it compared to 400 Blows, but just doesn’t sit right with me. Like Kes, the main character has an interest and a moderate degree of skill at this interest. There is an individual who encourages this interest, but only to a limited end and even a tragic end.

Pay attention to this: Andrea Arnold’s technique

I hate the description documentary-style. I hate it. It is inaccurate and too widely used. Even a rock star director like Aronofsky used it describe the way Black Swan was directed. It is just wrong. The original Office is “documentary-style”. Interviews are conducted, the subjects are aware of cameras, etc.

Fish Tank is not documentary-style. I hate using the term cinema-verite too – it sounds too academic. What I prefer is subjective perspective filmmaking. Fisk Tank is about Mia and disregards everything else. The camera observes her without judgment and although there are shots I didn’t think were necessary, her style is almost impeccable.

It has become fairly popular to shoot this way for independent movies, especially in the United States, but so frequently the styles flat on its face. This movie would have sucked balls if not executed perfectly. There were so many moments where a close up of a glance, or poorly timed edit, would ruin the tension building between Mia and her mother’s boyfriend. But, Arnold stays steadfast and allows the audience to put things together.

I’ve read that between 15% to 25% of children are sexually abused as children in North America. I imagine such statistics are similar in England. The movie seems very relevant – then why was it released unrated? It even won Best Film at the BAFTAS – the British Academy Awards. Why can’t it receive an R, but receive a 15 rating in England? Obviously it doesn’t really matter because the movie wouldn’t have done well in the theaters anyway, but c’mon.

-Collin.