Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank (Artificial Eye, 2009)

DIRECTOR Andrea Arnold is best known for her striking, Scottish-set debut feature Red Road. Her follow-up, Fish Tank, is an equally accomplished, heartfelt journey into blighted lives set on a housing estate on the fringes of London. There is a grim inevitability to a story that veers close to Greek tragedy at times but Arnold has a talent for finding the signs of hope and hints of poetry in even the bleakest of lives.

The film’s great find is Katie Jarvis, who was just sixteen when she was spotted on a railway platform arguing with her boyfriend. She has never acted before but is just right for the role of Mia, a 15-year-old misfit who seems to be at war with the world.

The eldest daughter of a single mother, she spends most of her time lashing out in fear and anger. We see a different side to her as she practises her dance moves in a deserted flat, dreaming of success in a local talent contest.

Everything changes with the arrival of her mother’s handsome, warm-hearted new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender). He takes an interest in the whole family, showing a respect and love that makes Mia feel that someone really cares about here. It seems to be only a matter of time before they act on the spark of attraction that simmers beneath the surface of their friendship.

Fish Tank sounds predictable, but Arnold still manages to catch the audience off-guard, steering the story towards disaster before heading off in a different direction. She also has the ability to bring out the best in her performers.

Fassbender’s Connor is a genuinely decent, sexy guy that you grow to like even as you question his character. Jarvis is extraordinary, capturing just the right mixture of defiance and desperation. She is a non-professional who may never act again, but in Fish Tank she gives a star performance.

Selected nationwide release

Director: Andrea Arnold
Cast: Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths, Harry Treadaway
Screenwriters: Andrea Arnold
Certificate: 15
Running time: 124mins
Country: UK
Year: 2009

© Allan Hunter, 2009

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