Fish Tank Review

Director: Andrea Arnold known for - No.73 (1982), Fish Tank (2009), Red Road (2006) and Wasp (2003)

Main Stars: Katie Jarvis, Micheal Fassbender and Kierston Wareing

                   

Katie Jarvis isn't very well known, has starred in a TV series the same year as Fish Tank called "Perfect day", offered a role in the popular British based film "SHANK" but rejected the role.

Micheal Fassbender is slightly more well known, starred in "300", "Angel", "Agatha Christie:Poirot" before "Fish Tank" and he has appeared in several other TV series or TV films/shorts but after "Fish Tank" he had become more known starring in "Inglourious Basterds", "Jonah Hex", Voiced a video game character for Fable3, starred in "X-Men: First Class" and "Prometheus"

Kierston Wareing isn't as well known as Micheal but is more known than Katie Jarvis, she starred in two TV series, one short, starred in the film "It's a free world" as the main role and the "RIse of the Footsoldier"

Plot: I believe the story is about a teenager who is stuck in this low society lifestyle, she is struggling to get free from this lifestyle. In the film there is this white horse which connotes purity but the horse is chained down and looks weak and dying, in some sense it relates to the female protagonist, she is chained down to her lifestyle, she can't escape it, she has pure talent of dancing but she struggles to escape her life, this links to the title of the film "Fish Tank" in a fish tank you are able to see outside at the world but you're unable to leave your current surroundings, you are limited to your surroundings, just like how the protagonist is limited with her choices, also during the film the mother of the protagonist dances to some music just before the protagonist leaves to go on a trip with a friend, the protagonist dances with the mother and they both do almost the exact same moves as if to say that the daughter will eventually end up like her mother no matter what, she can't escape it, the youngest daughter also joined in with the dancing behind the protagonist (her older sister) which shows that its like a cycle within the family, soon the youngest daughter will end up just like the mother and her older sister, they are all limited to their surroundings and are just like each other.

Characters: Katie Jarvis = protagonist (Mia), her acting skills are amazing, shows pure emotions and feelings of anger as if they come from within, she is apparently from a similar background which could possible give her the chance to really express her feelings through the film, but at some points I couldn't find her character convincing enough, I sometimes I lost myself in the film due to her acting and raw emotions but then sometimes she didn't do such a good job in making me believe she is Mia and not an actor.

Micheal Fassbender = Connor, the potential step-father who happens to be a family man from a better off lifestyle than Mia and her mother, Micheal is also very talented in showing strong emotions, he is able to portray this good guy feel about him to the audience, able to trick the audience in believing his character but does make it slightly obvious of his feelings for the other characters, he is able to make the audience question themselves, they see how he acts to Mia but isn't sure if he's thinking what the audience think or if it's all just in our minds.

Kierston Wareing = Joanne, the mother of Mia, I think her acting was pretty good majority of the time, showing her hatred for Mia but at some points I didn't find her very convincing, I did find her more convincing than Katie but not as much as Micheal

Genre: Drama, I think the film met my expectations of what is needed in a drama, it had some very tense moments and sad or upsetting images of family life in an area in which the characters live in, there was a lot of family issues in that film which is where I believe the majority of the drama came from, the tension between the mother and Mia.

Soundtrack: I didn't notice much of the soundtrack but it was cleverly used within the film linking the music to the scenes, the music was parallel to what was being shown on the screen.

Audience: I believe that this film is mainly targeted at teenagers who are going through a similar situation and live a similar lifestyle to Mia, it allows them to identify with Mia and feel comfort and security knowing that they aren't the only ones living like this, it's to show people that there are others out there going through the same thing, you're not alone. It also allows the audience to see how other may deal with their problems and situations and see if they can either follow or divert from their current path, a secondary target audience would most likely be people who live a "well-off" lifestyle, they have and get the best possible things without much effort, it's most likely to show that some people aren't as privileged as you, help others who are in need of help and don't take your life for granted.