“Fish Tank” by Andrea Arnolds

“Fish Tank” is a film directed by Andrea Arnold and starring newcomer Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. It chronicles teenage angst in poverty-stricken Britain. Anytime I watch movie I always go by the rule that first 10 minutes of a film must do something to draw me into the story. If I think of going to the bathroom or being hungry, chances are I will not enjoy it. I bring this up because in Mia's world, things were taking such and immediate turn from the start that I no time to think about anything else because I became genuinely interested in what the will happen to this girl. The film is loaded with amazingly memorable characters. The film stars eighteen-year-old Katie Jarvis as fifteen-year-old hip-hop dance enthusiast Mia Williams. Mia is a girl who is so fed-up with the world around her she's at war with it. She's friendless, has a younger sister whom I'm quite certain is possessed by Satan, and a mother who's a drunk, a hussy, and would just as soon slap Mia as look at her. She's a volatile girl in a volatile world.

Within the first two minutes we learn a ton about Mia as a person. She makes a phone call to her friend -- a friend we find out quickly - Mia has lost to a falling out because she can't control her temper. After the phone call, she jogs to the same friend's house, and throws rocks at the girl's dad to ensure he leaves a message for his daughter. Immediately after this, Mia gets into a fight with a group of girls because of their "terrible dancing". Within virtually no time at all, we've learned just about everything we need to know about Mia: she's loves dance, she's alone, and she's a complete bitch. The latter makes liking her very difficult. Yet at the end of the movie I was able relate to her enough to actually like her.

What I enjoyed most about this film is how real it felt. It's so well acted, most notably by Jarvis, I felt transported back to my teenage years when I felt the same as this kid: miserable and angry. Perhaps it's due to Jarvis's real age that makes her performance so authentic. Arnold's writing of this film is nothing short of flawless. Watching it, I felt trapped in a shitty family, in a shitty town, and under shitty circumstances right along with Mia. The backdrop Arnold chose to shoot against, again, a great and flawless move. Every step Mia takes through her world mirrors the crappy emotions going on inside her head. It works out wonderfully.

The conflict Arnold creates in this film is fantastic, and Mia is the cause of most of it. Her only real dream is to be a dancer. She gets the chance to pursue the dream, and the outcome might surprise a few people. The story gets really interesting when Mia's mother brings home her latest boyfriend. Right from the get-go he's unrelentingly nice, but it's clear he has some issues of his own. When those issues came to light I was blown away. All of this adds up to an explosive and surprising ending.

Arnold also mastered the art of creating allegories. Starting from the title”Fish Tank” which in my understanding is relating to the feeling of feeling of being completely and hopelessly trapped while being watched by everyone relates to the feelings main character was experiencing through out the whole movie. Another great allegory of her own situation is a plot strand which sees Mia repeatedly trying to free a tethered horse and set him free before he dies. The fact that the horse is being killed at the same age as Mia is currently makes the relationship even more obvious.

All in all, great film, great cast and acting, wonderfully written, extremely honest and human. I was really moved by the story and I would highly recommend it anyone who likes less ordinary independent cinema.