tr91 Fish Tank is a film that I had high expectations for but it fell considerably short of the mark. The premise of the film sounds like a great drama but for me it just didn't work. First of all the film is way too long for what it is, its 2 hours long and hardly anything happens! This easily could've had 30 minutes edited out as some scenes added absolutely nothing to the story.The film started off good but after an hour I began to realise that nothing special would happen. It was basically just watching a girl walk around her estate, swear at some people, try and free a horse, dance a bit, go home, leave the house again, dance some more and that's really all there was to it. Some of the stuff that was happening was just cringe worthy. The shaky camera was also rather annoying.The actors done a good but this film could have been so much more. Too long and not enough happening, disappointed.5/10.

PopCulturedwithMovieMike Fish Tank is an English film that follows the life of Mia, played by Katie Jarvis, a troubled 15-year-old in a lower-middle class town in England. Mia is getting into fights at school, fighting with her mother who seems to not care about her at all. Her mother spends most of her day drunk, catering to a revolving door of men coming into her life. The only way Mia can cope with her troubles is by dancing. She aspires to be a hip-hop dancer. Spending most of her time watching American rap videos and practicing their dance moves. Her life begins to change when her mother starts a relationship with a man named Connor, played by the always fabulous Michael Fassbender. Conner seems different from the other men that Mia's mother brings home. He seems to be caring, kind and has a steady job. As always, things are quite what they seem. Fish Tank unfolds like many teen angst films. The environment feels authentic and the acting is top notch. This is especially true for newcomer Katie Jarvis. Her anger is overwhelmingly apparent. There is also an innocence in her that makes her whole story heartbreaking. You can't help but feel bad for her and wonder how different her life would be if she was living somewhere else and being raised by caring parents. Mia yearns to be free of her current life. She comes across a horse that is chained up and seems to be neglected. She tries to free the horse. Showing a gentle, caring side of Mia. The horse is also a metaphor. She wants the horse to be free, just as she wants herself to be free of her troubled life in the toxic environment that is the town she lives in.

Melanie Mann I never thought it was possible for any movie to make me hate Michael Fassbender; hell, I saw Shame. That was a tough film, but it still didn't disgust me the way this movie did, and that's saying something.A terrible movie about terrible people being terrible to each other. Not to mention the glaring fault of it having no plot whatsoever. Oh, and let's not forget the part where a 30-something MARRIED man rapes a 15 year old girl. And then the girl kidnaps his kid, sort of drowns her but doesn't, and then takes her right back home for no apparent reason. But hey, I'm sure that's just 'realism'.So the lead actress did nothing to earn her role but argue with her prat bf in a train station, that doesn't mean this movie has 'grit'. "Hey, there's a homeless guy down the street who eats excrement, but he's NEVER acted before let's put him in a movie omg we'll get tons of awards!" Sadly, that last bit would probably earn an Oscar.TL; DR: at least in Flashdance the chick could actually dance. Don't watch this movie, spare yourself 2 wasted hours.

Beth Lloyd As someone who took Media Studies for 5 years in secondary school, reviewing a movie should really be a walk in the park. However, I really don't feel like any words I could string together would do this movie justice - but I am going to try. We follow Mia, a 15-year-old aspiring dancer who has been forced to grow up ahead of her time because of the environment she lives in, the people she interacts with and the borderline negligence of her own mother - A woman who would rather drink herself silly and try to preserve her dying youth than face her children and be reminded that she has responsibility for people younger and less independent than she is. Mia is at the centre of a lot of controversial events, such as paedophilia and kidnapping, creating a movie that is somewhat hard to watch, even if you may not be able to tear your eyes from the screen. She makes a lot of bad decisions throughout the movie, but that does not make her character unlikable. Everything Mia encounters builds her character up to the young woman we see at the end of the film, leaving with a friend to go to wales for an undetermined period of time. This is when we see the closest moment between Mia and her family, sharing a dance with her mum and a heartfelt hug with her younger sister, Tyler. The almost hand held camera work and use of only natural lighting made for a very real experience with nothing held back, depicting perfectly what life for a lot of the poverty stricken families in England is like.