Shame Fassbender!

My last poll on Heath Ledger vs. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a 50/50 split! In conclusion: They're both AMAZING!

How many posts is this now which have Fassbender at the center? I know, I have a problem and many people are probably sick of it, but seriously, you have to check out the film I am about to mention...

I watched "Fish Tank" last night. What a film! I've been meaning to watch it for ages now. It won so many prizes, the Jury Prize at Cannes 2009, the Bafta for Best British Film, and people keep recommending it to me. Then again, you know, it's one of those films where you think about watching it and are like "I'm not in the mood to be depressed" or can find no one in such a mood to watch it with you. But it definitely paid off and I genuinely believe I can call it one of my favourite films now.

"Fish Tank" is about a teenage girl, Mia (Katie Jarvis), who lives in an East London council estate, whose father is absent for an unmentioned reason, whose mother (Kierston Wareing) is frequently drunk,who spends much of her time alone, drinking, seeming to have isolated herself from her only friends. She swears heavily and in one of the earliest scenes nuts a girl in the face! But Mia also is an aspiring, talented hip-hop dancer, who sneaks away to a deserted council flat to practice her moves, who (literally) tries to free a starving horse from its chains, who clearly just wants someone to say a few nice words to her. I believe this is the main message of the film. Mia's mother, Joanne, is clearly very unhappy, she pushes around her two daughters and is foul-mouthed in front of even her youngest (who must be about 10). In turn, the two girls are aggressive and adopt bad language naturally. Then Connor (Michael Fassbeder) appears, the mother's new boyfriend, he's handsome, charming, friendly and good with the girls. Joanne is happier and so kinder to her daughters and in turn the youngest, Tyler, begins to behave more like a happy teenage girl and even Mia at times is sociable. Unhappy people find it difficult to be affectionate or sympathetic, but they are often unhappy because they have no one treating them humanely.

Things are not so simple with Connor however, and this is another clever trick of the film. Though he is amiable and generous, especially towards Mia, there are clear signs throughout that his treatment of the 15-year-old is not as innocent as it should be. The director (and writer), Andrea Arnold, seems to want us to judge Connor's behaviour, but then never makes it easy for us to do so. Is he all bad? Are things really so black and white. People definitely aren't and Arnold understands this and this is what she wants to show us. We see a better side of Mia's mother and sister when they are treated with affection, we see that our initial judgements of the family are unfair. Maybe judging Connor is not so straightforward either.

The film is brilliantly shot. Camera angles frequently change to show you events from a new and interesting perspective. In one scene, Mia films Connor changing his shirt and dolling himself up: we go from a head-high shot of Mia with the camera to a shot from below, as Mia lies down, from between her arms, almost from the cameras perspective as we watch Connor. We are seeing what she sees and how SHE perceives this new man in her life. The lighting is also meticulously chosen. A friend I was watching it with pointed this out specifically in a scene in which Mia dances for Connor. It is dark outside, the lights are off in the house, all we have is the streetlight from outside creating a shadow in the room. We watch the silhouette of Mia, the dark, expressionless form, clearly depicting the tension and inappropriate sexuality of the scene.

All the performances are flawless. Kate Jarvis, who plays Mia, must have been about 18 when she filmed this, very young and depicting flawlessly someone even younger. At no point in the film do you doubt her authenticity as she conveys anger; frustration; hope; suffocation - in this fish tank she lives in - as she knows there's something bigger out there for her; desire for a much older man. This is not an easy task for a first time actress, spotted by a casting agent while arguing with her boyfriend at a train station, and no one can doubt the beauty of this performance. Fassbender has a challenging role, making himself likeable while also incredibly suspicious. You know really that his intentions are not pure, but he seems to bring happiness to an unhappy family. He plays perfectly in that field of grey which we cannot judge. Kierston Wareing is always brilliant, I first saw her in Martina Cole's "The Take", as the beautiful but disturbed and deeply depressed Jackie. Though not one of the two main roles in "Fish Tank", she conveys depression and despair, in some cases happiness and hope, more naturally than many other actresses with her looks. There is also a brilliant performance from the young Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths).

If I have not convinced you yet with this length appraisal, I don't know what will. OK, one more thing: I know I shouldn't be noticing this in this particular film, but 32 year old Michael Fassbender is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. His first appearance, in the kitchen wearing only jeans, shows off his... lets say impressive body. While watching it I invented a new - well, new is a strong word - to describe the effect this actor has on women: He leaves you "Fassbendered". That plus his star performance should get any Fassbender fan interested. By the way, do we fans have a name? Can we be Fanbenders? Or does that just sound wrong?

Film news:
Having created a Twitter account I'm getting all the good film news! And I read this little treat yesterday. Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska are to star in Richard Ayoade's next directorial venture, "The Double", based on Dostoyevsky's novella of the same name. It is the story of a man whose life is shaken greatly by the appearance of his doppleganger.A story of great loneliness. The film is to start shooting this summer and I already can't wait for its release.

On other news, for comic book and comic book film fans, there are to be prequel graphic novels written to Alan Moore's "Watchmen". A series of books focusing on individual characters, Ozymandius, the Comedian, Nite Owl, also one on the Minutemen and more. It is likely that Alan Moore will not agree with this, I'm not sure how I feel about someone else trying to take over from the genius himself, but I am intrigued to see the stories and I shall secretly hope that more films will be made!

I am going to try to keep up to date within this blog on what films are coming out in the next few weeks (that I think worth mentioning), so that you and I can both make sure we're on top of the important dates!


February 3rd
Martha Macy May Marlene 
(I have always, not so secretly, bee a massive Olsen twin fan, so I am curious to see this new, third Olsen acting, in a role which has been highly critically acclaimed!)


February 10th
A Dangerous Method
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (3D)
The Woman in Black
(Daniel Radcliffe in a period drama? Hell yeah!)