Weird Fishes

Saw 2009's Fish Tank this weekend. All I knew of it was it was indie and involved teen angst. It slowly and subtly blew my mind. The basic premise has been done a kajillion times, so the power is in the nuance with this one, folks.

Fifteen-year-old Mia lives in an Essex housing project with her alcoholic, bitchy mother and equally miserable and cranky younger sister, Tyler. She has no friends, either. In the first "day" we experience with her, she's either verbally or physically attacked (or attacking) in four different situations.

Her means of escape is an abandoned flat where she practices hip hop dance. While there's an entire movement of young women dressing and dancing like this in Britain, for Americans, the closest relative you may recognize would be Lady Sovereign's tomboyish talent (complete with messy ponytail and sweatpants.) Mom's new (young) boyfriend, Conner, moves in and Mia's inner-turmoil begins to manifest as she hovers between wanting him to be her father and her lover.

The rawness in the acting was startling. Scenes that may seem unnecessary (an adults-only party in the living room shows us the naked truth about how Britain's working class relax: sad grinding in ill-fitting clothes with people they have to be drunk to stomach) are crucial. And even Mia's dream to be a dancer is ridiculous when looked at with common sense. She isn't very good.  Conner's encouragement seems genuine, but we can never fully tell if he actually thinks she's good because he knows no better, or because he's caught in an encouragement-meets-desire conundrum.

Michael Fassbender (Conner) absolutely killed in this role. And Katie Jarvis (Mia) seems poised to win an Oscar next time out. She morphed into this waifish brat, showed us the sharp and stinging pains of being stuck in a deadend freefall, punched with real anger and cried real tears. She would have been a great Lisbeth Salander.

And the soundtrack? Holy moly. Bobby Womack's smoky version of "California Dreamin'" features prominently in the film, and is able to be as layered as any of the characters. It morphs from representing a family fishing daytrip to a darker, sexier example of escapism. The best in late 2000s hip hop is there with Nas's "Life's A Bitch" also makings itself heard loudly and clearly amid the chaos.

Now, afer deciding to write this, I research a bit and learn it won the 2010 BAFTA (the British Oscar) for Best Picture and the Jury Prize at last year's Cannes.