SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

gavin6942 Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.How much can be said about the effect of a female writer-director on a film? Is it really different than from a male perspective? Generally, I think any difference is exaggerated. My knowledge is strongest with the horror genre, and the female-helmed features are not obviously different. (I am looking at you, Barbara Peeters.) Here, we see a very female-centric tale. How strong the characters are is debatable, but they are definitely front and center. The unorthodox relationship between daughter and boyfriend is told in a way that is more blunt than generally accepted.

PopCulturedwithMovieMike Fish Tank is an English film that follows the life of Mia, played by Katie Jarvis, a troubled 15-year-old in a lower-middle class town in England. Mia is getting into fights at school, fighting with her mother who seems to not care about her at all. Her mother spends most of her day drunk, catering to a revolving door of men coming into her life. The only way Mia can cope with her troubles is by dancing. She aspires to be a hip-hop dancer. Spending most of her time watching American rap videos and practicing their dance moves. Her life begins to change when her mother starts a relationship with a man named Connor, played by the always fabulous Michael Fassbender. Conner seems different from the other men that Mia's mother brings home. He seems to be caring, kind and has a steady job. As always, things are quite what they seem. Fish Tank unfolds like many teen angst films. The environment feels authentic and the acting is top notch. This is especially true for newcomer Katie Jarvis. Her anger is overwhelmingly apparent. There is also an innocence in her that makes her whole story heartbreaking. You can't help but feel bad for her and wonder how different her life would be if she was living somewhere else and being raised by caring parents. Mia yearns to be free of her current life. She comes across a horse that is chained up and seems to be neglected. She tries to free the horse. Showing a gentle, caring side of Mia. The horse is also a metaphor. She wants the horse to be free, just as she wants herself to be free of her troubled life in the toxic environment that is the town she lives in.

angrypancho I imagine it's no small thing even for someone as obviously talented as she to choose a movie career as a young mother, but the UK movie industry would certainly benefit from someone of her charisma and talent.I just now saw this movie on satellite and have no recollection of its being shown around me back in 2009 when it was released. Checking several sources to see how it had been reviewed, I'm glad to see it was critically acclaimed in several movie festivals. Andrea Arnold in particular, its writer-director, should have been proclaimed a cinematic wizard. There are so many brilliant choices in this film that I wonder whether the problem was too many industry people were rightly intimidated. Jarvis, for example, had never acted before.The plot of 'Fish Tank' borrows from Arnold's and Jarvis' own experiences growing up in working class England, I think. A young girl dreams of being a dancer while navigating a mother who can barely keep herself afloat and her unexpectedly attractive, and yet fatherly, new boyfriend played by Michael Fassbender. The movie follows Mia, at 15 and quite spirited, as she struggles to find a foothold in the rough world that's molded her and promises to entrap her.This is an overlooked film that you will never forget; the scenes are so true to life, they're hard to see as fiction. I'm only sorry I didn't see it when it was circulating.

punishmentpark 'Fish Tank' is at times big on symbolism. The bound horse, for instance, which represents Mia's own imprisonment in a bleak life - and she is not being smart or subtle about breaking (it) free. The fishing trip, where Mia's mother's new boyfriend Connor just grabs a fish out of the water and Mia at pretty much the same moment gets hurt. It's all a little obvious, isn't it?Then there is the story that drags on and on trying to convince us that Connor is really a nice guy, while it is clear he has his eye on Mia the second they first meet. Of course, over time (and time it takes), I was also wanting and growing to believe that he could really just be a good guy helping to guide this broken family - bang bang, Andrea Arnold shoots us all down, and pursues us with a nerve wrecking abduction that might lead to deaths of... Keira? No. Mia? No. The old horse gets it, Mia cries and makes up with the Saab hobbyist. - The end. 'Say hello to the whales for me!' O, and the audition didn't work out, but I didn't think she could dance all that well, anyway, but I'm no expert.Forgive me my sarcasm, I just had to get it off my chest to express my frustrations about seeing things coming and then getting pulled in and being surprised anyway; maybe that's Arnold wants us to feel like - like Mia? It was adequately filmed (the 4:3 ratio is remarkably easy to get used to) and the acting was quite convincing, but I'm not sure what to make of it.A small 6 out of 10.