--- title: "Fish Tank: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/fish-tank/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/fish-tank" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Fish Tank (2009): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 18 reviews: 17 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. The consensus is strongly positive, with praise centred on Andrea Arnold’s intimate direction and Katie Jarvis’s naturalistic performance as Mia. Most critics find Jarvis convincing in both the teenager’s aggression and her vulnerability, while Michael Fassbender also draws favourable notice. The reviews praise the film’s vivid estate setting, tense relationships and attention to adolescent desire. Many see tenderness and hope in its social realism, crediting Arnold with avoiding easy judgements about characters living with poverty and neglect. Reservations concern the writing more than the performances: some critics find the symbolism obvious, the plotting contrived or the running time overlong. The AV Club admires Jarvis but argues that symbolic and archetypal elements make the situation sadder than necessary. The New Yorker offers the clearest dissent, questioning the psychological credibility of the scenes while still finding value in Jarvis’s quieter moments. The spread is largely between enthusiasm and qualified approval, rather than outright rejection. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 23 March 2010. The review hails the film as a brilliantly and sensitively made work that buzzes with life and offers its own distinctive take on British social realism. Arnold is praised for her intimate, poetic approach to character and grey-area drama, avoiding easy judgements. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/fish-tank) ## Slant Magazine — Lauren Wissot Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 January 2010. The review lauds Arnold's precise, concise filmmaking style that allows the visceral atmosphere to emerge organically and highlights Katie Jarvis's terrific awkward ease as the simmering rebel Mia. It singles out the honest, heartbreaking dance scenes and the nuanced portrayal of dysfunctional family dynamics and adolescent seduction. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/fish-tank/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2010. The film is a tough and brilliant second feature that conveys the contradictions of adolescence with authenticity and force through fine-grained realism. It highlights the astonishing performance of nonprofessional actress Katie Jarvis as the trapped yet resilient protagonist Mia. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/movies/15fish.html) ## Total Film — Jonathan Dean Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2009. The review highlights the raw, tense filmmaking and exceptional scenes that convey bottled-up emotions, with standout work from Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. Arnold cements her reputation as a serious director with the best British film of the year. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/fish-tank-review/) ## Empire — Philip Wilding Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 August 2009. The critic calls it an unlikely heartbreaker and vivid portrayal of life at society's margins, driven by searing central performances especially from newcomer Katie Jarvis. The central duo's fraught dynamic and the film's mix of cramped estates and countryside make for compelling viewing. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/fish-tank-review/) ## Evening Standard Rating 4/5. 10 April 2012. The review praises the electrifying central scenes between Mia and Connor and the bold, vulnerable performance by Katie Jarvis, but finds the film overall frustrating with predictable set-pieces and a portentous final act. It concludes it is a four-star treatise on deprivation that the comfortably-off will applaud, though a missed opportunity. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/poverty-turns-to-poetry-in-fish-tank-7416522.html) ## Film Comment — Kristin M. Jones Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2010. The critic finds the film pitilessly plausible and lingering in the memory, painting a complex and deeply sad picture of teenage and adult desire and mothers failing their daughters. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-fish-tank-andrea-arnold/) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/4/4. 10 September 2009. The critic finds Arnold's second feature an engrossing and brilliantly made British drama that places her among the top current British filmmakers. The naturalistic performances, especially from newcomer Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender, are singled out for praise, though a subplot is noted as extraneous. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/fish-tank) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 2010. Arnold’s exceptionally well-crafted drama offers a precisely rendered, vérité-style look at a teenager forced to grow up too fast amid poverty and neglect. The nonprofessional lead Katie Jarvis delivers an achingly real performance that makes Mia’s world feel tangible and spied-upon. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-29-la-et-fishtank29-2010jan29-story.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 2009. Festival review. Arnold confidently handles the difficult second feature, confirming her status in social realist traditions with multi-layered characters and naturalistic dialogue. The poetic moments in bleak lives and strong newcomer performance are highlighted, though the film is noted as overlong. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/features/fish-tank-/5001100.article) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2009. The critic finds the film a convincing and powerful portrait of life on an Essex estate, with a terrific lead performance from newcomer Katie Jarvis as the complex, abrasive Mia. While uneven and somewhat familiar in its social realism, it benefits from Arnold's steely direction and ability to make the setting almost soulful. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/fish-tank-andrea-arnold-124-mins-15-1786335.html) ## The AV Club — Noel Murray Rating B-. 14 January 2010. The review commends Arnold for eliciting a remarkably natural performance from first-timer Katie Jarvis and for sensitively exploring a teen's awareness of her sexual power and adult cues. It criticizes the film for rigging the plot with overly symbolic and archetypal elements that make the situation sadder than necessary. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/fish-tank-1798164139) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2010. The film constructs scenes with superficial psychological coherence that defies reality and lacks a sense of becoming or transitional states. It nevertheless has virtues in the lead performance of Katie Jarvis, who excels particularly in repose. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/something-fishy) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 10 September 2009. The critic praises the film's mastery of social-realist drama and its fizzing life, tenderness and hope in place of cynicism about 'Broken Britain'. He singles out the terrific central performance by debutant Katie Jarvis and strong work from Michael Fassbender. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/sep/10/fish-tank-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter 14 May 2009. Festival review. The review praises Arnold for creating another vivid portrait of a disaffected teenager and highlights newcomer Katie Jarvis's star-making performance as the foul-mouthed, yearning Mia. It notes the film's power in depicting a grim council estate life and subtle family moments, despite one implausible episode. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/fish-tank-film-review-93141/) ## Variety — Leslie Felperin 14 May 2009. Festival review. Andrea Arnold’s sophomore feature delivers an unflinching, honest and unsentimental portrait of a sullen teenage girl in a rough Essex housing project. The assured direction and excellent performances make the grim story feel special despite its familiar setting. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/fish-tank-1200474883/) ## The Skinny — James Campbell Rating 5/5. 14 September 2009. The critic calls the film extraordinary, touching and melancholic, executing social-realist tropes with honest optimism and never resorting to sentimentality or cliché, making it unmissable. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/fish-tank) ## Eye for Film — Chris Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2009. The critic praises the film's overpowering momentum and realistic portrayal of a trapped teenager's life, highlighting its vibrant, gritty storytelling that avoids clichés. They single out the electrifying performance of newcomer Katie Jarvis. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/fish-tank-film-review-by-chris) ## The Playlist — Kimber Myers Rating B+. 13 January 2010. The film is smart, surprising, and a little sweet, with a focus on Mia's coming-of-age story beyond just the inappropriate relationship. The critic praises the raw, documentary-like performance of Katie Jarvis and Arnold's naturalistic direction with hope in humanity. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-andrea-arnolds-fish-tank-is-20100113/) ## Digital Spy — Mayer Nissim Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2009. The critic praises the exploration of complex human relationships and the skill of the lead performers, especially newcomer Katie Jarvis who elevates the film to something very special. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a176206/fish-tank/) ## Paste — Paste Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2010. The critic finds the film a fulfilling look at British lower-class life and dysfunctional family dynamics through strong, naturalistic performances and verité style, but notes the writing often feels clunky and heavy-handed with obvious metaphors. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/andrea-arnold/fish-tank) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/fish-tank.md