Fish Tank Review
By David Kempler
Fresh "Fish"
Mia (Kate Jarvis) is a 15-year-old wild child. She lives in an area of England where drugs are everywhere and hope has been replaced by alcohol, drugs, unemployment, well you get the picture. She is no longer attending school, instead spending her time practicing dancing to hip-hop videos in an abandoned apartment complex, fighting with her mother and engaging in mini-turf-wars with the other young women in the area. She fits in with no one. The other girls hang out in packs. She is a lone wolf. Mia has nothing to hold onto other than her anger and self-loathing. Her mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), spends most of her day drunk or looking for a man. Mia also has a younger sister who is already drinking, smoking cigarettes and cursing like a longshoreman. This is not a happy sitcom family whose problems are along the lines of "failing to do homework".
Into her home life comes Connor (Michael Fassbender), a good-looking young man who has fallen in love with Joanne after meeting her at a party. Connor is different than everyone else. He sticks out because he projects goodness and happiness, something that exists nowhere else in "Fish Tank". From the very first moment, we know that Mia is attracted to him, She doesn't totally understand her feelings but she knows she is attracted to him physically and that she is equally fascinated by his always happy demeanor. He treats her like a human being.
Soon afterwards he moves in with the three ladies and Joanne falls in love with Connor. Mia's feelings for Connor grow but Connor plays the part of father figure only. His presence hurls her into a minor positive metamorphosis. All that changes when the two of them find themselves alone in the living room and they are both drunk. Sex happens. The playing field is now greatly altered. Mia wants a relationship with Connor but he realizes the gravity of what he has done and moves out without saying a word.
This is where "Fish Tank" unravels a little bit. Mia hunts him down and commits heinous acts. While it is powerful to watch, it doesn't ring as true as everything that preceded it. Nevertheless, "Fish Tank" is an original. All of the performances are believable. They are real people, especially Kate Jarvis, who does an outstanding job as the disaffected Mia. And let's not forget writer-director Andrea Arnold who also does great work, despite my quibbling with the borderline bizarre scenes in the latter part of the film.
