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The Criterion Collection

Fish Tank (The Criterion Collection)

Based on 370 reviews
Condition: Used - Very Good
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At a glance

Condition
Used - Very Good
Format
DVD February 22, 2011
Model
CRRN1946DVD
Dimensions
0.5 x 5.3 x 7.5 in; 3.2 oz
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Runtime
2 hours and 2 minutes

Description

British director Andrea Arnold (Red Road) won the Cannes Jury Prize for the searing and invigorating FISH TANK, about a fifteen-year- old girl, Mia (electrifying newcomer Katie Jarvis), who lives with her mother and sister in the depressed housing projects of Essex. Mia�s adolescent conflicts and emerging sexuality reach boiling points when her mother�s new boyfriend (a lethally attractive Michael Fassbender [Hunger, Inglourious Basterds]) enters the picture. In her young career, Arnold has already proven herself to be a master of social realism (evoking the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach), investing her sympathetic portraits of dead-end lives with a poetic, earthy sensibility all her own. FISH TANK heralds the official arrival of a major new filmmaker. The Criterion release Fish Tank, from director Andrea Arnold (Red Road), is a bittersweet drama that belongs entirely to its depressed and rebellious teenage protagonist, Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis), as she roots around her Essex housing project looking for love and fun. Waves of ennui wash over her as Mia gets into negligible amounts of trouble to relieve herself, trying to set someone's horse free, digging through junkyards or getting thugs to buy her beer, for example, and nightly coming home to nasty feuds with her trashy alcoholic mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), and younger sister, Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths). But this coming-of- age tale's narrative becomes exponentially more complex once Mia's mom brings home her new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender), who seems destined to cause even greater rifts between these sexually hungry mother and daughters. The beauty of Fish Tank's cinematography enhances the tension of its story, and while the plot unravels slowly, it does so with grace and intrigue, thanks to Jarvis's rich portrayal of a confused and furious 15-year-old. But it's the development of Mia as a palpable character that carries the film; her deep interest in hip-hop dancing, for example, lends itself to a subtext about the need for activity and a creative outlet during adolescence. Mia is such a sympathetic character that one can hardly help feel her frustration at being prisoner, as she sees it, in her own troubled home. Fish Tank has the hallmarks of great entertainment, such as charming and romantic moments, but nevertheless it manages to feel convincing as documentary as the camera trails Mia meandering through her dissatisfying daily life. It has the quiet, stylish feel of Sofia Coppola's Virgin Suicides but is arguably better for its deeper, truer treatment of character and conflict. --Trinie Dalton

Specs 14

Genre Drama
Format Color, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Special Edition, Surround Sound
Contributor Andrea Arnold, Carrie-Ann Savil, Charlotte Collins, Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths
Language English
Runtime 2 hours and 2 minutes
MPAA rating NR (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions 0.5 x 5.3 x 7.5 inches; 3.2 ounces
Item model number CRRN1946DVD

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Top Amazon Reviews

A beauty
Fish Tank is a feminist, award-winning British film directed by Andrea Arnold. Some films are driven by plot; others by performance. This one is driven by lived experience. It tells the story of a fragment of life, Mia’s, living with a single mother and a younger sister. The film gradually makes the viewer understand how, in the lives of young women, emotional attachment can reorganize everything: what feels fair or unfair, what deserves resistance, and what suddenly seems acceptable. As an Italian popular song once put it (Ave Maria), “women one day, mothers forever.” That fatalistic intuition hovers over the film. At first, Mia appears determined to fight injustice. She confronts bullies, even those who practice animal cruelty. She has energy, anger, and a sense of moral direction. She has a regular boyfriend. Then her mother’s boyfriend enters the picture. Through him, Mia experiences desire, recognition, and the illusion of adult intimacy. He presents himself as the only possible real man, without presenting the alternative viewpoint properly. The effect is destabilizing. She changes: how she dresses, how she thinks, how she judges herself and the world. The film never romanticizes this transformation. Instead, it leads Mia and the viewer to the realization that there are no free lunches, the man has skeletons in his closet... Desire comes with asymmetries, costs, and consequences that are not evenly distributed. Some viewers will say Mia matures. Others will say she simply chose the wrong man. A third group of others will think she would have been better off alone. The film allows all these readings without endorsing any single one. Fish Tank is a beauty, and I totally recommend it. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2026 by iugi
"Are You A Pikey?"
"Fish Tank" (2009) is an odd blend of "Wasp" (Andrea Arnold's 2003 short film) and "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn". The closing scene where Mia (Katie Jarvis) is saying goodbye to her little sister was especially evocative of the last words in Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn"; when Francie is about to leave and takes one last look over at the fire escape where 10-year-old Florry Wendy is reading a book, then whispers "Good-bye, Francie". The film is not for everyone but if you like naturalistic acting and a gritty (often dreary) story you would be well served to track down this film. It is a film of in-your-face close-ups and the 4:3 aspect ratio was a perfect choice for this style. A wider frame would have diminished the intensity while adding nothing. What Arnold does better than any director I can think of is her acting-for-the-camera direction of young actresses. This was certainly true with the three children in "Wasp", who seemed to effortlessly give Arnold just the underplayed performances she needed. In "Fish Tank" she gently guides Jarvis toward a performance full of gritty authenticity. And she scores again with Rebecca Griffith's tragicomic portrayal of little sister Tyler (with lines as funny as they are poignant). Griffith's character is especially important because at its core this is a story of free will vs destiny. And Mia must recognize her destiny if she is to change it. This recognition comes with the death of the Irish Traveler horse (symbolized by the chain and concrete block that once constrained it) and with the realization that she and her "chip-off-the-same-block" younger sister are the same person at different stages; traveling the same road to an inevitable nothing. This motivates her to break out of the rut into which she was born, a track where one is distracted by superficial false hopes from seeking real opportunity. Her new road may end badly but she has nothing to lose. Another nicely directed naturalistic performance is turned in by Sydney Mary Nash as Keira. Her scenes are probably the best in the film, they certainly were the most difficult. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2011 by Only-A-Child
Fish Food
This was the first Andrea Arnold film I ever saw and I'm glad I bought it. It's the story that anyone in a dead end situation can relate to. Mia is a lot of teenagers at 15 (lonely,frustrated, depressed) and her environment doesn't help at all. Living with in a housing project with her foul mouthed little sister and young mom (who sees her as competition) is a trying experience to say the least. she does have something going for her... dance(kinda). Mia is real into hip hop culture and wants to become a dancer(see the movie for the result)the films soundtrack go's great with every scene and certain plot points prove that "life's a bitch". This film is so great in that it captures the broken spirit of the characters and you feel like your watching real people deal with real issues. As a American it was refreshing to see another side of London (The ghetto)and that's one of the things I loved about the film.So in closing a round of applause for Andrea Arnold and the cast for a terrific movie and the criterion collection for bringing it stateside. Go see this asap ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2012 by K.Smith
Get It!
Normally I don’t get a criterion movie without a commentary or documentary but all the short films are amazing and the film itself is as well and all have infinite replay value for me. Would recommend to anyone, especially any fans of the movie, Andrea Arnold, or good music.
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2021 by Paulie Walnuts
This film is a beautiful portrayal of growing up.
I didn't know much about this movie, except that Michael Fassbender starred in it and normally Criterion films don't let me down. Here is the synopsis for those not familiar: "A mother and daughter find themselves locked in an ugly battle over the same man in this drama from writer and director Andrea Arnold. Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis) is 15 years old and lives in a shabby apartment block with her mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), and younger sister, Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths). Mia is a reckless and rebellious teenager who frequently argues with her mother and sister and has run afoul of the authorities at school, leading to her being suspended. With plenty of time on her hands, Mia spends her days drinking when she can find alcohol and partying in a empty flat near her apartment. Joanne is a single mother, and she's begun dating a new man, Connor (Michael Fassbender); when Joanne brings him home to meet the girls, Mia is immediately attracted to him, and it's soon clear Connor feels the same way about her. Mia attempts to seduce Connor to take him away from her mother, and when she succeeds, Joanne's greatest anger is not with the man who has slept with her underaged daughter, but the girl who is now a rival for the affections of her lover." The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2009, and Andrea Arnold has followed it up with 2 other outstanding movies. This is a must have for your movie collection, and bluray is absolutely beautiful. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2015 by Scott Hutcheson
Indie.Brit movie rocks!
I loved this movie and boy did it surprise and intrigue me. Definitely not a rehashed recycled or standard routine movie. If you love indie, gritty, intelligently crafted screenwriting mixed with a dose of working class social realism and anti-glamour cinema verity, step right up. I wished PBS aired shows/movies like this that focus on low-income Brits. Oh yeah, and this is a Criterion Collection edition to boot! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2015 by VINCE F64
buying Movies is like a box of chocolates
There are over a MILLION Criterion Titles, ( Well, ...Almost) this would , maybe make my Top 100, or rather "DOWN 100" ( "worst 100"), in other words, You should pass and choose a title which is truly a Top 100 from the Criterion Vault! On the other hand, I have about a 100 movies which I would rate less than this one, SO.... there you go! Sometimes, buying Movies is like a box of chocolates.... ! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2015 by Miro Madrid
Great film with fantastic acting
Great film with fantastic acting, a coming of age story from a darker point of view. The Criterion comes with several special features and picture quality is excellent! Highly recommended!
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017 by day_of_dark
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