Ratcatcher

1999 1h 34m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 254

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

William Eadie
James
Tommy Flanagan
Da
Mandy Matthews
Ma
Michelle Stewart
Ellen
Lynne Ramsay Jr.
Anne Marie
Leanne Mullen
Margaret Anne
John Miller
Kenny
Jackie Quinn
Mrs Quinn

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writers: Lynne Ramsay
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, France

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 / 7

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lynne Ramsay, shot by Alwin H. Küchler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

William Eadie and Tommy Flanagan and Mandy Matthews carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0171685 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lynne Ramsay directs. Alwin H. Küchler behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. Lucia Zucchetti cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

127 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, France.
3Directed by Lynne Ramsay, shot by Alwin H. Küchler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Lucia Zucchetti shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6William Eadie and Tommy Flanagan and Mandy Matthews carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0171685 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alwin H. Küchler
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: Lucia Zucchetti
Production design: Jane Morton
Costume design: Gill Horn
Makeup / hair: Anastasia Shirley
VFX supervisor: Steven Begg
Stunt coordinator: Paul Heasman
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Ratcatcher (1999)

Also by

Lynne Ramsay

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-13
★ 7/10
It was quite odd watching this because I was just a little younger than the character of "James" (William Eadie) living in Glasgow in the 1970s. I remember the nine-week long dustmen strike that left tons of rubbish piled up all over the place. We lived in a mouse-infested one bed flat similar to the ones in the tenement buildings featured here, and that canal - well it was an overgrown, disease-ridden, deathtrap that had long been abandoned to nature. Back then, there was still ample waste ground - bomb damaged and cleared after the war, for us kids to play on, and that's what we did. Nobody had a car or a phone - or, for that matter, a washing machine, so when he goes out to play no wonder he was meant to tuck his trouser legs into his wellies! Mind you, I'd have thought the canal way too cold for him and his mate "Ryan" (Thomas McTaggart) to be be mucking around in, but that is what they are doing when tragedy strikes. It's this that forms the bedrock for this engagingly observational story of him and his life with his drunk of a father (Tommy Flanagan); caring, but no-nonsense mother (Mandy Matthews) and young sister. The photography powerfully depicts the squalor in which they live, ever hopeful that the folks from the council are going to come and offer them a new home on the city's outskirts where "James" dreams of having a real plumbed bath and a field of corn to play in. He also befriends "Margaret Anne" (Leanne Mullen), a slightly older girl who spends much of her time giving his mates their first semi-sexual experiences in her flat or in the cludgie. Alone else remember the "nit comb"? That actually proves to be the most unlikely of romantic conduits as the two use that and a hefty dose of eye-watering carbolic soap to discover a bond, a companionship, and some genuine moments of affection. Eadie is great here, he delivers in a most natural of styles and aided by Flanagan as his permanently sozzled but never violent father, by Matthews and by the remarkably engaging effort from his "retarded" neighbour "Kenny" (John Miller), presents us with a sense of a family and a community that certainly speaks most of the time in swear words, but still has standards of decency and a strong sense of looking out for each other. We were never a community that showed affection in any sentimental sense and with virtually no technology to rely on, we made our own entertainment - however grubby and dangerous it might look nowadays. Lynne Ramsay portrays that gritty urban living potently and plausibly here whilst remembering that this city is also populated by some of the most entertainingly sarcastic people on Earth. The "schemes" of Glasgow were nowhere to to live in 1973, but everyone was in the same boat - and that is really effectively demonstrated in this poignant search for hope, freedom and some hot water.

Production companies