Film: Fish tank
The new film from award-winning British filmmaker Andrea Arnold is a sad and moving look at life on the British sink estate, somewhere far away from the Britain portrayed in our usual Richard Burton films and period dramas.
Unflinching in it's portrayal of the struggle so many British teenagers face, with Mia's mum (Kierston Wareing) more interested in men than bringing up her two children, making sure the girls know their place when friends and boyfriends visit the flat.
Fish Tank follows the lonely life of the eldest daughter, 15-year-old Mia (newcomer Katie Jarvis), as she struggles to find love and acceptance in a world with little opportunity, we see her life turned upside down with arrival of her mother's new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender).
Due to be sent to a referral unit, Mia's only happiness comes from breaking into an abandoned flat to practise dance moves while swilling cans of cider. Harrowing as parts of the film are, there are touching moments and glimmers of hope within the film that stay with you long after the credits role.
