Dreary and unoriginal, like hundreds of its sub-Ken Loach predecessors, this is how Billy Elliott might have turned out had it been made by a collective of depressive Essex girls.
4 Comments
09/11/09
Fish Tank (2009)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:33
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: Cannes Jury Prize-winner Fish Tank is gritty British realism at its very best with flawless performances from newcomer Kate Jarvis, and Michael Fassbender.
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Jan 15, 2010 Limited
Starring: Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Harry Treadaway
Director: Andrea Arnold
Reviews for Fish Tank
The kind of thriller that Ken Loach might make in collaboration with Michael Haneke, a slice of social-realist cinema in which we are never sure what – if anything – is about happen. It’s oppressively pessimistic but also utterly gripping.
09/11/09
Great acting throughout the cast, raw energy and poignant imagery are surely what secured Fish Tank the jury prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
09/11/09
A lean, empathetic and dramatically credible portrait of desperation and desire on the cider-splashed streets of adolescence.
09/11/09
There are moments of athletic grace, as Mia dances in an abandoned flat to her Discman; and a closing image, of a floating heart balloon, which does little to dispel the sense of emotional agoraphobia which has spooled out over the previous two hours.
09/11/09
Fish Tank is full of surprises, twisting and turning like a teenage girl trying to escape the clutches of an unwanted suitor.
09/11/09
Andrea Arnold confidently navigates the pitfalls of the ‘difficult’ second feature with Fish Tank, which confirms her status as a torchbearer for the social realist traditions of Ken Loach and the Dardenne brothers.
05/15/09
Arnold controls this simmering tension as adroitly as she did in her first film: it's a real skill to present quite unpleasant characters and then reveal them as vulnerable, even loveable.
09/11/09
Fish Tank feels electrifyingly bold. And yet, taken as a whole, it’s frustrating.
09/11/09
A film that brilliantly and sensitively buzzes with life and offers its very own take on our world and our city. It delivers in spades attitude, humour, sadness, love, anger and hope.
05/14/09
Fish Tank takes you to places you never expected and, with pitch-perfect performances all round, makes for a beguiling and very real picture that conjures hope amid the most hopeless of surroundings. The best British film of the year.
09/11/09
Well enough written and directed, and certainly acted, to prove a compassionate and in the end and optimistic study of an underclass who, despite everything, refuse to succumb to their circumstances.
05/14/09
Think of this as "Precious: The White Sequel"
10/27/09
A quietly intense, strikingly shot coming-of-age drama, Fish Tank establishes Andrea Arnold as a lyrical chronicler of marginalised Britain.
09/11/09
Brit writer/director Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank is a Dardennes-style drama bang out of the top drawer. Powerful, punishing, funny and beautifully observed, it’s driven by a stunning performance from non-pro newcomer Katie Jarvis.
05/18/09
A powerful, poignant and beautiful film, Arnold crafts Brit realism at its best
09/11/09
full review at Movies for the Masses
12/10/09
Fish Tank is a kitchen sink drama with themes of alienation and sexual repression explored by a picaresque female protagonist.
05/15/09
Arnold draws flawless performances from her cast while making exemplary choices with her camera.
09/11/09
What makes pic feel special is its unflinching honesty and lack of sentimentality or moralizing, along with assured direction and excellent perfs.
05/14/09
Latest News for Fish Tank
December 07, 2009:
Awards Tour: Fish Tank, Moon Win British Independent Film Awards 
Duncan Jones took home the Best Debut Director award and his film was named Best British Independent Film at the British Independent Film Awards in London last night. Fish Tank... More...
October 27, 2009:
Fish Tank Claims 8 BIFA Nominations
The 12th British Independent Film Award nominees were announced yesterday, recognising Fish Tank in 8 categories including Best Film and Best Director. Duncan Jones's sci-fi... More...
September 09, 2009:
Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
Having bagged an Oscar for her short film Wasp and a Cannes Jury Prize for her debut feature Red Road, Andrea Arnold concretes her status as one of Britain's hottest new... More...
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: Humpday wins RT Award
Humpday, directed by Lynn Shelton, has become the second ever winner of the Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award, it was announced today at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh.... More...
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