What to Stream: Michael Fassbender's Breakout, 'Fish Tank'
Fish Tank (2010) Netflix, Amazon Instant, iTunes
The Basics: Gritty U.K.-set coming-of-age drama starring Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender; directed by Andrea Arnold
If You Liked: Winter’s Bone, Precious, Wendy and Lucy
The Nugget: A provocative portrait of a working-class teenage girl, with a creepily charismatic Fassbender in his breakout role.
Before he raged through 12 Years a Slave and bent steel in the X-Men movies, Michael Fassbender mesmerized American critics with his turn as an ambiguous charmer in this searing drama from British filmmaker Andrea Arnold. Set in the rough, vibrant world of an Essex housing complex, it focuses on 15-year-old Mia (Jarvis), a loner who roves the tower block fighting, practicing hip-hop dance in empty flats, and dodging a social worker. When her hard-partying mother brings home a new boyfriend (Fassbender), he's the first adult in Mia's life who seems to care, encouraging her ambitions even as he exploits the unsettling intimacy between them. Worth watching for the stunning performances alone, including that by Jarvis — a first-time actor discovered on a London rail platform while arguing with her boyfriend — who plays Mia with a masterful mix of fury and vulnerability.
Photo credit: © Everett Collection
