Live fish

Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank follows 15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis), a product of British housing projects and a torrent of fury and confusion (within the first few minutes of the film she gets in roughly five fights, both verbal and physical). The main plot thread involves a dangerous relationship with her trashy mom's (Kierston Wareing) new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender).

The premise might seem like one that has been explored to death--how many times have we seen angsty, impoverished youth struggle to find themselves? But Arnold's knack for gritty realism makes her film stand out.

Jarvis' performance is nothing short of incredible, and beyond impressive given that she is not a professional actor. Discovered in a subway station having a screaming fight with her boyfriend, her Mia is messy and uncalculated. Her lack of acting experience seems, in this case, to be her greatest strength, for she conveys all of Mia's twisting emotions with the veracity of living it.

The fact that none of the actors are well-known (the most recognizable being Fassbender, after his role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds) makes Fish Tank all the more credible. The same movie with famous faces would have been ridiculous; instead, their relative anonymity helps solidify its authenticity.

To top it all off, Arnold gave the script to her actors in pieces, so that, while filming, none of them would know what was in store for their characters. Though not a common practice, this seems an obvious recipe for success in this genre. A bunch of people who don't know what's coming next... sounds a whole lot like real life, doesn't it?