This Cannes prize winner will open in North America soon, but our London correspondent doesn't suggest you go out of your way to see it. He does think you should keep your eyes peeled for Kate Jarvis. Fish Tank
Directed by Andrea Arnold
123 minutes
** (of five)
This film comes laden with praise from a variety of people worldwide including critics and audiences at the Cannes Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Fifteen-year-old Mia (newcomer Kate Jarvis) lives with her single mother and younger daughter in an Essex council flat a few miles from the ragged East End of London. She’s been expelled from school and is a wannabee street dancer in trouble with social services over a bloody fight with a girl in a playground. So far, so Ken Loach in content and style. Mia’s mother gets involved with a new partner Connor (the excellent Michael Fassbender) and invites him to stay. Then the father/lover neon sign flashes on and off in Mia’s head. Mia digs up some dirt in Connor’s private life and a series of contrived scenes follow that dislodge the film from its already fragile poise. Like most of her life, Mia’s street dancing desire has no energy behind it and she’s certainly no Billy Elliot. She longs for recognitions, but the path is too hard for her to persist. She goes for an audition, but walks out when it’s her turn. She wants to free a chained horse, but fails. Oddly that clumsy symbol is shown twice, just in case you didn’t get it the first time. Also the amount of swearing in this film makes Reservoir Dogs seem like an episode of The Waltons. It’s funny for a time, but grows tedious after ten minutes as there’s little humor to back it up.
There are other cracks in Arnold’s methods. Her treatment of class is curious, and vaguely patronizing. The attempt to draw laughs from trash culture values is awkward and she utters banalities such as: “Thinking is the enemy of creativity” (Tell that to Joni Mitchell or Miles Davis); and “It's only the middle classes who are likely to find the drama grim.” This comes from a woman who is unashamedly middle class herself. This patronizing nonsense further rips the rug out from a reasonable social-realist drama, though it compares badly to similar dramas from the past such as Saturday Night, Sunday Morning; Kes; and Poor Cow. Arnold clearly seeks Ken Loach comparisons, but he threaded through his dramas with political subtlety whereas Arnold eschews these. She has been quoted as saying the film has no “message.” If we are neither condemning Mia nor lionizing her, I was left thinking “So what?” It will be interesting to see what happens now to Kate Jarvis - she promises a great deal, and all she needs is a good script. I suspect that most of the praise Fish Tank has received is due to her performance.
It might be worth checking out Arnold’s 2006 film Red Road. This film owed nothing to anyone else and it put her on the map. It is a far superior film to Fish Tank in every way.—Lloyd Sellus
123 minutes
** (of five)
This film comes laden with praise from a variety of people worldwide including critics and audiences at the Cannes Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Fifteen-year-old Mia (newcomer Kate Jarvis) lives with her single mother and younger daughter in an Essex council flat a few miles from the ragged East End of London. She’s been expelled from school and is a wannabee street dancer in trouble with social services over a bloody fight with a girl in a playground. So far, so Ken Loach in content and style. Mia’s mother gets involved with a new partner Connor (the excellent Michael Fassbender) and invites him to stay. Then the father/lover neon sign flashes on and off in Mia’s head. Mia digs up some dirt in Connor’s private life and a series of contrived scenes follow that dislodge the film from its already fragile poise. Like most of her life, Mia’s street dancing desire has no energy behind it and she’s certainly no Billy Elliot. She longs for recognitions, but the path is too hard for her to persist. She goes for an audition, but walks out when it’s her turn. She wants to free a chained horse, but fails. Oddly that clumsy symbol is shown twice, just in case you didn’t get it the first time. Also the amount of swearing in this film makes Reservoir Dogs seem like an episode of The Waltons. It’s funny for a time, but grows tedious after ten minutes as there’s little humor to back it up.
There are other cracks in Arnold’s methods. Her treatment of class is curious, and vaguely patronizing. The attempt to draw laughs from trash culture values is awkward and she utters banalities such as: “Thinking is the enemy of creativity” (Tell that to Joni Mitchell or Miles Davis); and “It's only the middle classes who are likely to find the drama grim.” This comes from a woman who is unashamedly middle class herself. This patronizing nonsense further rips the rug out from a reasonable social-realist drama, though it compares badly to similar dramas from the past such as Saturday Night, Sunday Morning; Kes; and Poor Cow. Arnold clearly seeks Ken Loach comparisons, but he threaded through his dramas with political subtlety whereas Arnold eschews these. She has been quoted as saying the film has no “message.” If we are neither condemning Mia nor lionizing her, I was left thinking “So what?” It will be interesting to see what happens now to Kate Jarvis - she promises a great deal, and all she needs is a good script. I suspect that most of the praise Fish Tank has received is due to her performance.
It might be worth checking out Arnold’s 2006 film Red Road. This film owed nothing to anyone else and it put her on the map. It is a far superior film to Fish Tank in every way.—Lloyd Sellus
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