Fish Tank Movie Review (2009)
An incredibly authentic-feeling film about a teenager trying to find her place while feeling completely alone, Fish Tank is an excellent study in young hopes and needs.
Being a teenager is really difficult. You don’t always notice while you are going through it, but looking back? I’m good with where I am now. As a teen, you feel awkward in your own skin, you care a lot about what everyone else thinks, and nothing ever feels good enough – and that is if you actually have all of your needs met and a caring family. That is the easiest of the situations.
Fish Tank is about 15 year old Mia, a rebellious teenager who is not doing well in school, has a toxic relationship with her “I had you as a teenager, now I’m going to behave like a teenager” mother, has no friends, and has a little sister who is going down the same path. She lives in a tenement-style housing building and has hopes of becoming a modern dancer. When her mom begins dating Connor, she gets small glimpses of what life would be like with a caring parent.
This drama is gritty and feels incredibly real. Many times, you forget you are watching a movie and think that you are watching a documentary of Mia’s life. There are breaks in that sheen (mostly because Michael Fassbender is now a household name and the only recognizable actor in the film), but you definitely get swept up in the quietness and anxiety of the realism.
Fish Tank can be a little tough to watch at times, as there are very few pockets of hope. As a viewer, you know that some of these choices aren’t healthy, but you also understand where this teen is coming from. It leaves you itching to talk to her or encourage her, because she is clearly at a precipice. She doesn’t have many options and she acts tough, but she is still a child inside.
The actors are excellent (particularly Katie Jarvis as Mia), but it’s actually a bit tough to talk about them because it is difficult to remember that they are actors. The reality of this piece feels so bleak, so real, so everyday, that it is a real testament to their craft and director, Andrea Arnold.
Fish Tank is a slow burn, and, with one quiet piece at a time, it takes you somewhere. It is subtle, with Mia observing people and events around her, trying to figure out what she is allowed to want. And sometimes the people who help you have the best of intentions, but sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately, we all have to learn that lesson.
Runtime: 123 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: Not Rated (I would say TV-14 or R)
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Available: Free on Tubi and Roku or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
