Fish Tank

"Live, love and give as good as you get."

2009 2h 3m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 981🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●81Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 68,687

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.

“Live, love and give as good as you get.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Katie Jarvis
Mia Williams
Michael Fassbender
Connor O'Reily
Kierston Wareing
Joanne Williams
Rebecca Griffiths
Tyler Williams
Harry Treadaway
Billy
Jason Maza
Billy's Brother
Jack Gordon
Billy's Brother
Joanna Horton
Kelly

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrea Arnold
Writers: Andrea Arnold
Languages: English
Countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Andrea Arnold, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Phonso Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nicolas Chaudeurge shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender and Kierston Wareing carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Live, love and give as good as you get.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrea Arnold directs. Robbie Ryan behind the camera. Phonso Martin scores. Nicolas Chaudeurge cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Netherlands, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 17 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Andrea Arnold, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Phonso Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nicolas Chaudeurge shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender and Kierston Wareing carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Live, love and give as good as you get.".
9IMDB entry: tt1232776 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "adultery", "friendship", "mother", "alcohol".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
Original score: Phonso Martin
Editing: Nicolas Chaudeurge
Production design: Helen Scott
Costume design: Jane Petrie
Makeup / hair: Alex King
Sound: Per Boström
Stunt coordinator: Sarah Franzl
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $5,900,000
Return: 197% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Fish Tank (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 81/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 68,687 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award. 21 wins & 30 nominations total

BAFTA Award for Best British Film
Motovun Film Festival
Jury Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Andrea Arnold

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-21
★ 7/10
Kate Jarvis is on great form here as the vulnerably odious "Mia". Living with her mother and sister, she is unruly and uncaring. Nobody cares about her and she cheerfully reciprocates. That is, however, until her mum (Kierston Wareing) brings home a hot new boyfriend. "Connor" (Michael Fassbender) has no time for her histrionics which infuriates her even more. Meantime, she has determined to free an horse that is owned by some local lads and chained near their caravans. Armed with an hammer, well that doesn't quite go to plan - but she does meet "Billy" (Harry Treadaway) so maybe it's not a complete disaster. It's quite clear what her agenda is, and the quickly paced drama illustrates just how wily she can be at achieving it. This is where the story rather falls off a cliff for me. Too much baggage is dumped on us and the already pretty unlikeable envious "Mia" proceeds to behave in such a reckless and thoughtless manner that any sympathy I had for her evaporated. There's precisely no chemistry between Jarvis and Fassbender (or even Treadaway) and that doesn't help convince that there is anything real here. It's noisy and earthy enough, sure, but just how did she ever become this teenage harridan and why ought anyone - family or otherwise - give a damn at all about "Mia". A very strong and convincing effort from Jarvis, though.

Production companies