Now in select theaters and also available On Demand for $7.99, Fish Tank is a powerful British drama that doesn’t shy away from controversial material. It’s being compared to Precious, but Fish Tank hit me harder and didn’t feel as emotionally manipulative. It had a Mike Leigh vibe minus the eccentricity. Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, the movie takes a look at 15 year old Mia (Katie Jarvis), a lonely, neglected girl walled in by a public housing estate. She has no friends and interacts with her mother and younger sister essentially through screams and slamming doors. Her mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) is an alcoholic party girl. One day Joanne brings home Connor (Michael Fassbinder), a young charmer who Mia is instantly attracted to. It’s obvious that the feeling is mutual.

So much of the film rests on the performance of 19 year old Jarvis, and, honestly, she’s the Truth. She was discovered by Arnold at a train station, arguing with her boyfriend. She lived in a public housing estate in Essex and had a baby when she was 16. She may not have gone into this film with any acting chops, but she had plenty of experience with the material.

Arnold doesn’t really hide where the movie is headed. In fact, it’s easy to figure out early on where the film is headed. But it’s not really about what happens between Mia and Connor, it’s about Mia’s and her doomed existence. With a mother like that, she’s fucked from the starting gate. We’re given front row to this uphill struggle through Mia’s eyes. The camera sticks by her side throughout the film has a real voyeuristic feel. By the end, I wanted out of the stinkin’ projects as much as Mia.

Oh, Nas is in the title of the review because “Life’s a Bitch” plays over the end credits. It seems obvious at first, but it works. You’ll see why. Trust me.

- Oh Mars