Episode 84: Fish Tank (2009)

I revisit Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank (2009), a film that completely blew me away when I first saw it and feels even more powerful on rewatch.

It’s a raw and incredibly realistic portrait of a teenager trying to find her place in the world, surrounded by circumstances and adults that often fail her. Katie Jarvis gives an extraordinary debut performance as Mia, while Michael Fassbender delivers one of his most complicated and unsettling roles.

This is a film about loneliness, belonging, family breakdown and the desperate search for something better. It’s uncomfortable, heartbreaking and beautifully made — a film that stays with you long after it finishes.