Here's a suggestion for what you ought to do on your next free weekend evening: rent a little movie that came out last year called Fish Tank.
It's often billed as the U.K.'s answer to Precious. Which is to say that both films treat the subject of poverty, sexuality, dysfunctional families and abuse within an urban setting. But the American film has more of an uplifting, Oprah-esque touch while the British film is raw and bleak. (A bit like the difference between the American and British versions of the television show, The Office.)
I haven't seen Precious yet, so I can't speak to the comparison. But I can say that as someone who likes her films sunny side down, Fish Tank really spoke to me and has stayed with me long after I finished watching it.
Fish Tank, like Up In The Air, is a film about adulthood. Here's why:
- It's about toughness and vulnerability. Once you set eyes on the film's protagonist, Mia, a scrappy 15-year-old whose life is upended when her mother's new boyfriend moves in, you won't take your eyes off of her. Part of this is the fresh, compelling performance by the young actress, Katie Jarvis. But what makes Mia so appealing is that she is in equal measure both tough (she punches a few faces along the way) and vulnerable. (Beneath the toughness we see how painful she finds her social isolation, her verbally abusive mother, and her sexual longing for someone out of her reach.) And that's what growing up is all about, isn't it? Learning how to live with disappointment and fear, but also how to protect ourselves from getting hurt.