My god. So shocking. So sad. Yet so true.

I cared about this angry kid, and this makes for a very tense watch, as we wait for something terrible to happen to her. It's also very moving when she gets some kindness from her mum's new boyfriend. Leanly, beautifully shot, with a perfect evocative diagetic soundtrack. There's hope for British film yet.

This film has a brilliantly melancholic tone, but unfortunately can't carry itself with that single exceptional note. I appreciated the subtle ways in which the characters perception grew, but given the number of accomplices introduced her journey seemed somewhat contrived, and its beautiful little moments a bit empty without a full cast of rounded characters to appreciate them with. I didn't need to see consequences, but I felt like the film was missing some fully realized reactions.

Good performances, disturbing, sometimes aimless story.

Thirteen + An Education + Step Up = Fish Tank. May be the worst film in the Criterion Collection. Fassbender is the only redeeming aspect of this run-of-the-mill teen girl gone wild story. Why all the hype? There is nothing here.

Think of it as a comedy.

British realism meets teenage angst and frustration in this gritty (but pretty) film. Fantastic performances all around, especially by Katie Jarvis, who succeeds in making a belligerent, angry, and troubled 15 year old appear genuine and likable. The audition scene towards the end is a great highlight.

Everyone in this film is a cunt. Nice lighting. She peed on his fucking rug, man!

Magnificent acting from Jarvis in this incredibly realistic story of troubled youth. The conclusion of Fassbender's story didn't do much for me, but the rest of the story was solid and managed to be gritty without being overly dark and hopeless. My one issue is that hand-cam makes me feel sick and I had to pause the movie for a while a few times before I could continue.

No reality-show in the world could ever show reality this way. Solid in every aspect, and for once a modern realism that melts together with suspension and a nice climax. It never drifts or loses edge, on the contrary it magically keeps you awake from start till finish. Also, great cinematography; so nice that this unsteady hand-held over-the-shoulder cam is here proven capable of producing stunning, colorful pictures.

it's pretty damn on the nose but the acting and cinematography are fantastic

More like Fish WANK, yeah? (get it?).

Watch out world, here comes Katie Jarvis! An incredible performance by the teen who portrays the foul mouthed Mia with great charisma. You never get the background for this little family living in a somewhat ghetto-ish neighbourhood, but the film gives you hints every once in a while. Not a huge fan of the overall structure, but some of the scenes are breathtaking and leaves you both with horror and joy while Mia tries to get away from her life, but like a fish, she keeps bumping into the glass!

Katie Jarvis makes a great debut by playing the intriguing Mia but Fassbender is the MVP, as usual. The film peaks when Katie and Fassy are together. Their chemistry is amazing. Great cinematography as well.

This knee-jerk pathos is a reflex from both America's Reagan-era hip-hop and England's Thatcher-era miserabilist pop. Call it Automatic Pity.

Unique movie in many ways. Feels like real life.

Bunch of obnoxious, well acted characters that I could not care about. Story is predictable and drags in the last third of the film. However, I loved the way it was shot. At first, I was doubtful about now-unusual academic aspect ratio, but photography is great, and captures the essence of the film. The last dancing scene is so cheesy that it nearly killed everything the film accomplished up to the point (think Slumdog Millionaire). So yea, I rather take sugarcoated An Education.

Katie Jarvis is excellent - bristling with youthful energy, showing the turbulent emotions and unsure feelings with a spectacular subtlety, going through so many different moods without missing a beat or ever seeming fake. There's a humanity to and a sense of humour in the film which is necessary both to its impact and its resonance and I loved the bold colours and kinetic camera work - the film looks beautiful. Fish Tank is extremely compelling, honest, unpredictable and touching.

Energetic, poignant and compelling. Jarvis transmits teenage frustration and need masterfully.

When it's not trying to be too 'gritty', this film is something special

UK kitchen-sink drama populated exclusively by obnoxious characters. We're all supposed to think that movies like this are automatically righteous by virtue of being smaller, but this is not _The Bicycle Thief_, and it sure as hell isn't Sven Nykvist. Was the scene where the heroine *snicker* urinates on the carpet really necessary? What, exactly, *is* a person supposed to like about this movie?

I'm not sure this really brings anything new to the kitchen sink style of filmmaking, but it's pretty damn good. Mia is an intriguing character, due largely in part to Katie Jarvis' strong performance. I also thought Kierston Wareing was very good. What I appreciated most about this film was that it could show you a lot of truly awful things, but never wallows in miserabilism. Throughout is a note of hope, minor joys that touch the characters without sacrificing realism. Love the soundtrack.

From the moment a 15-year-old girl headbutted someone in the face, I knew this was going to be great! Gripping from start to finish, thanks to Katie Jarvis's bottled up teenage energy and Andrea Arnold's nervous handheld camerawork. Every gram of happiness feels fleeting, and by the end we just want the justice of something good to happen to the character. But no! We have to question that too, thanks to her uncondoneable behaviour. It's a little bit electric...

A good movie despite the completely unsympathetic protagonist. But I think that was the point. In fact, every character in this film is repugnant to some degree, even the kids. The dreary, rundown setting doesn't help cheer things up. We all have hopes and dreams, but we can't all live in squeaky clean American suburbia.

DNF

Mia is a caged animal moreso than an oblivious fish, but both are trapped in the confines of their realities. Mia doesn't trust. Maybe it's growing up with a mother who's even less mature than her. Maybe it's because when she does let her guard down, it proves to end poorly. It's raw and unbalanced, like Mia. It's bleak but with a sliver of sunlight. I think it's wrong to call her unsympathetic. Think of the unseen cause behind her behaviour. That's where the empathy is found.

A young girl with ambitous dreams learns the hard way

An unforgettable experience. A hauntingly realistic and unflinching coming-of-age heartbreaker.

Katie Jarvis should be the next big thing coming out of Britain, then? Wow.

Who was clamoring for a lower-class, vérité-style version of An Education? Definitely grittier, and the relationship between the teen girl and her older suitor is handled with a lot more subtlety and ambivalence. Strains a little in its symbolism.

A very frank and honest film; Mia is incredibly sympathetic as a protagonist. Does an excellent job portraying domestic strife and the struggles inherit to being a teenager. Overall it felt like a very "real" portrayal of working class life.

Nailed the confused everyday lifestyle the characters (All expertly acted with Jarvis/Fassbender being the strongest) went through. Unfortunate that it is flawed with a messy final third, the storyboard seemed to be a tad jumbled. Liked it, just wish a few things were changed.

Harsh drama about teen age confusion. Delivered through engaging plot and shabby settings, with fantastic performance from Fassbender and Jarvis, Fish Tank could have been great, but lost it trues essence somewhere at the end.