At once an heir to British kitchen sink realism and a bold, original vision of working-class adolescence, Andrea Arnold’s powerful Fish Tank follows Mia as she ekes out her bleak teenage years in a financially and emotionally impoverished apartment block on the edge of London. She begins to conceive of a way out when her hard-drinking single mother brings home a charming boyfriend with eyes for her. Absorbing and unhinged, much like its main character, this singular film shines in perhaps the trickiest story mode: raw social drama. Angry Young Man, meet Angry Young Woman.
“The brilliant power of the film comes from the gritty reality Arnold creates.” – Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
“What makes pic feel special is its unflinching honesty and lack of sentimentality or moralizing, along with assured direction and excellent perfs.” – Leslie Felperin, Variety
“Fish Tank may begin as a patch of lower-class chaos, but it turns into a commanding, emotionally satisfying movie, comparable to such youth-in-trouble classics as The 400 Blows.” – David Denby, New Yorker
