Fish Tank

In British filmmaker Andrea Arnold‘s Fish Tank, newcomer Katie Jarvis plays 15-year-old Mia, who lives in the projects of Essex with her trash-talking little sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths), and party-girl mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing). It's not an easy life, but Mia finds release through hip-hop dancing, which she hopes to do professionally. Around the time Joanne starts spending time with charming Irish immigrant Connor (Michael Fassbender), Mia becomes fixated on a horse confined to an empty lot. Whether she recognizes the broken-down beast as a kindred spirit or not, Mia's life isn't much different—as she herself may never escape the slums. Desperate for affection, Mia flirts with Connor, who returns the attention, at first innocently, until a line is eventually crossed. In the aftermath, Mia becomes as obsessed with the man as the horse, but the danger she courts in trying to free the beast of burden is nothing compared to the peril she faces in attempting to punish Connor. Fish Tank, which begins as a social-realist character piece, smoothly segues into thriller territory, although the film does sport moments of humor and even manages to inject a late ray of hope. Highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)