(2013-05-20 03:45:20)

excellent acting

This is an interesting movie, well worth seeing, even though it hassubstantial failings. Evenness of pace is probably its mostdebilitating aspect: the slow, steady plod to the climax prevents thatclimax from being quite as climactic as it should be. Also, thedirector and his DOP are too in love with the hand-held camera fortheir own good: too much of it really is irritating, and there is muchtoo much of it in this film. Having said that, there are some wonderfulshots and juxtaposition of shots, moving us from warm reds to coolblues and back again. As far as the plot is concerned, the charactersare all too neatly slotted into it, emphasising the story'sartificiality, which plays against naturalism of the acting, just asthe snappy editing plays against the hand-held camera-work. .Compareand contrast THE USUAL SUSPECTS, which is so wonderfully artificialthroughout that its story's twists, turns and games, and the theatricalturns from most of its cast add up to something very entertaining.LITTLE FISH, in the end, perhaps takes itself a little too seriously. That's the carping out of the way. The good news is that the acting isterrific. Blanchett is a rare leading actress, capable of convincing usshe's an ordinary working girl - one simply can't imagine, for example,Kidman taking this role on and making it so real and touching. SamNeill, cast against type, is wonderfully loathsome. Martin Henderson,Dustin Nguyen, Joel Tobeck - all give top-class support. But therevelation is Hugo Weaving, who is magnificent as the drug-addictedformer star-sportsman. Can this be the same actor who has been markinghis time in THE MATRIX and LORD OF THE RINGS? Amazingly, it is. Atotally convincing transformation. All in all, an only justbetter-than-average thriller, greatly enhanced by its actors.

vitaleralphlouis

(2013-05-19 10:04:55)

Dreadful, boring life of born losers,

I love Cate Blanchett and would rather see her on screen than any otheractress. Beautiful always, her expressions and delivery are exceeded bynobody. Last month I drove 260 miles to see her on stage when she did aplay in Brooklyn. BUT... but.... Little Fish is a dreadful movie aboutboring dreary people on a one way trip to nowhere. The movie has twosaving graces: Cate Blanchett, every minute she's on camera. Second isthe message that not all petty drug dealers get rich. Take points awayfor the needless and annoying homosexual scene, add a point or two forCate's semi-nude scene, subtract for irritating profanity; it all addsup to 2 out of 10 --- and a serious disappointment. My wife is wise.She fell asleep 12 minutes into it.

Claudio Carvalho

(2013-05-13 16:11:03)

Trapped in the Past

In Sidney, Tracey Heart (Cate Blanchet) is a thirty-two years oldmanager of a video shop ex-addicted in heroin and clean for four years.She is trying to raise forty thousand dollars to buy a shop forcomputer games on the next door of the rental and become partner of herboss, but based on her negative records, the banks deny the loan.Tracey takes care of her junkie stepfather Lionel Dawson (HugoWeaving), unsuccessfully trying to make him quit his heroin habit. Whenher former boy-friend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen) returns from Vancouver,Tracey's mother Janelle (Noni Hazlehurst) fears a fall of Tracey, whileshe blames Jonny for the car accident where her son Ray (MartinHenderson) lost one leg. When Ray and Jonny associate to Moss (JoelTobeck), the assistant of the retired criminal boss Bradley 'TheJockey' Thompson (Sam Neill), in drug dealing, Tracey is convinced byJonny to join them and raise the necessary money for her business alongthe weekend."Little Fish" is a heavy drama, based on losers, people addicted indrugs, showing how difficult the recovery is. The lead character is awoman without perspective in life that sees the chance of a good honestbusiness, but with the doors closed due to her past, being thereforetrapped in her past. Her mother suffers in double, since her formermate addicted her daughter and her son, who lost part of one leg withJonny. The story is original, having the characters very well developedalong the narrative and with great performances. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Sob o Efeito da Água" ("Under the Effect of theWater")

(2013-05-13 05:02:54)

Shiny shiny girl

I had withdrawal symptoms, hadn't watched a Cate Blanchett movie in years. Must be because she has a real job now, at a Sydney theatre, rather than making flimsy movies for more money than she can possibly earn now.This woman is one of the best. Here she gives us a credible 32 y old depressed struggling woman in Sydney. She is a manager in a video shop and wants to become a partner by injecting money for an expansion of the business. She can't get a loan due to her credit reports. She has a younger brother who is a drug dealer. She has a former boyfriend who is a drug dealer. Her father, not in the picture, possibly dead, was a junkey. There is an ex-stepfather (Hugo Weaving), or rather she is friends with her mother's ex-boyfriend, who is a junkey and a former rugby star and a sometimes lover of the local big man in the drugs distribution (Sam Neil). This 'old man' (must be 50 at least, imagine that) is badly losing it, he can't afford his habit any more, but he can't stand the rehab. The only thing that he can do is reminisce about good old times on the beach with his shiny shiny girl, and look forward into the abyss.You get the picture. We get a slow, convincing, impressive snapshot at a depressing life style. Big fish and little fish normally swim in different parts of the water. Sometimes their paths cross and that can't be good for the little ones.

damonisho

(2013-05-09 16:48:15)

flawed but riveting

This film is full of beautiful atmospheric shots that keep it visuallyengaging. The acting is fine all round: Cate Blanchett is, as always,stellar, but the supporting cast is very strong and appealing. Theintensity of the love between Cate B's 'Tracy' and Dustin Nguyen's'Johnny' is riveting: you cannot look away when these 2 characters areworking through their respective past hurts. Hugo Weaving's 'Lionel'portrays a convincingly wrenching vision of heroin withdrawal. Themusic and the pacing create a nearly unbearable tension.But, the narrative is full of holes. As a story, the left-out gaps canbe filled in by later reflection, but it's a fairly straightforwardtale, with no need for confusion had the right parts been left in andothers lopped out. A long film, great acting, superb atmosphere, andsome good dialogue, but a sketchy narrative.I'd recommend it anyway.

(2013-05-09 11:32:30)

This is perfect for film school students

Everyone else, however, will find it hard going. Film school students will admire the unrelenting portrayal of dreary lives, the eliptical script, the A listed high powered cast giving meticulous well thought out performances. Film critics, many of them film school graduates, have already pronounced it worthy, worthy, worthy. I found it boring, boring, boring.Why do filmmakers often seem to forget that they are storytellers? It is a storyteller's obligation to entertain or at least involve the audience. Unrelenting portrayals of dreary lives are just that...dreary. And because the script is so eliptical (very arty though)it is difficult to get a grip on the emotional stakes for the characters in what is going on.Watching this movie was like eating a trout filet with too many small bones, enjoyment is spoiled by having to pick pieces of story out of a script that gives one too little to chew on amid too many annoying and pointless distractions.Despite that, Hugo Weaving does manage to engage some sympathy. He is a fine actor. I wish the script had served him as well as he served it. Cate Blanchett was wasted in a totally thankless role. The actress playing her mother, I would like to see more of. For their sakes, I gave this movie three stars.

(2013-05-09 05:26:55)

Slow but entertaining

Little fish is about a woman trying to escape her past and get on with her life. Tracey, a former heroin addict, finds it hard to break her shackles and find her independance that she so desperately wants. Being in her 30's, still living with her mum and brother dealing with the return of her ex-boyfriend after a 4 year abscense and trying to help her drug addicted step father kick his habit, only add to all the frustrations Tracey (played by Blanchett) feel in her life. With little glimmer of hope, the banks keep refusing to loan her money to kick start her own business and a second chance for a new life, you can see Tracey become more and more frustrated and angry as the story progresses. Director Rowan Woods develops a background of all the characters brilliantly, but doesn't really take the script anywhere. Best known for his work on the play, "the boys", Woods doesn't seem able to take the script by Jacquelin Perske anywhere, it just kind of sits dormant.The script centre's around the lead character, plated brilliantly by Cate Blanchett, it is worth seeing the movie for her performance alone. With an ensemble cast including Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, Martin Henderson, Lisa McCune, Noni Hazlehurst and Susie Porter, it is a who's who of Australian cinema. The chemistry between Blanchett and Henderson, as her brother is outstanding and it is these two characters that carry the film. Henderson's charcter Ray is fighting demons of his own, having lost his leg in car accident caused by Jonny, Tracey's ex boyfriend, who's return opens old wounds that seem to affect every character, especially Tracey and Ray's mum, played by Noni Hazlehurst.Set in and around Cabramatta, a violent and drug riddled suburb of south-western Sydney, this is a tense, often depressing drama, that is slow at times, but moving and powerful. Probably about 20 minutes too long, the ending is slightly disappointing and leaves too many issues unresolved and up in the air. There seems little closure for the charcters involved and you are left wondering if there was a happy ending or a tragic one.The music and cinematography is good, the acting is excellent, but overall I couldn't help but be a little disappointed after watching it. Certainly not as good as woods previous effort, 'the boys'.

pshand

(2013-05-08 07:59:58)

Single handedly restored my faith in Australian film

I must say I went into the film with very vague expectations beingweary due to previous "Australian film" experiences. However I wasreally taken back with the utter quality of this movie. Its beautifullyshot, the actors are flawless, the story is so engaging, and the use ofmusic is perfect for the film.The film steers clear of the usual cliché's found in so many filmsthese days and presents such a genuine story that just completely sucksyou in. This movie is definitely for a mature audience as the themesand situations would not be grasped by a younger audience.My incoherent praises of this film do not do it justice so go check itout and support the frail Australian film industry.

(2013-04-30 03:48:54)

What a waste of Cate Blanchett's talent

This is undoubtly the most boring movie I have ever watched, even Cate Blachett's great talent could not save this movie. The plot is ho-hum and not worthy a story for a movie. The scenery was grungy as well as the characters in the movie. The conversation was thick with Aussie accent and difficult to understand and the characters mumbled.Save your money and purchase one of Cate Blanchetts other great movies of which there are many.

misch jones

(2013-04-29 14:46:11)

It is the best film since Lantana (not including Somersault of course!)

Now I had been waiting for this release and to my surprise it was incertain Birch Carol and Coyle cinema's how lucky am I that I didn'thave to travel that far, I guess this is due to Blanchett's being! Buthow nostalgic of her to return to our shores and be in one of our filmsagain... I mean seriously when was the last time Nicole did that, Iadmire Blanchett even more than before. And deserving she is... AsTracy a recovering drug addict she is not only intense and convincingshe is so non mainstream in looks (apart from the blonde hair I guess)that she is completely inspiring and empowering for women...I thought this may be a little drawn out but not at all. Every minutekept me completely captivated in a supreme mix of drama and thriller.The support were fantastic also. Noni Hazelhurst reminded my so much ofmy own mother it was scary. Hugo Weaving is superb, it's not even Hugoanymore it's Lionel Dawson.... there is no question what so ever of hischaracter.Love, love, love the production design. The symbolic nature of Tracy'sswimming scenes were beautiful and meaningful and reminded my ofShortland's wonderful feature Somersault.Intense, heavy but beautiful, a rare and wonderful film...I totally agree with the one above me - if you are an Aussie - see thisfilm - if only to support us..... - we need our own help..... come onthis is a way better film than the perfect catch.... Drew doesn't needyour money!

losdzez

(2013-04-27 01:51:23)

Tough and real

Little Fish is a tough little slice out of the lives of several peopletouched by drugs. But it's more about people wanting to be more thanwho they are, and where that gets us.When we first see Lionel (Hugo Weaving, who is all but unrecognizable,deep into this role), we don't know what's wrong - but we knowsomething is very wrong. It's not long before we see he's lost toheroin, and we want to hate him for it, but we can't. Such is thecharisma of addicts. All that's left for him is to decide whether hestill has enough fight in him to change things.Cate Blanchett's Tracy is hiding a wave of emotion so huge that whenshe allows it to escape it overwhelms her. She explodes in anger, orher tears fling themselves from her eyes, her face softening with toomuch pain to bear. Love threatens to engulf her. We at once wonder whyshe can't just be happy that she's clean and has a job, because herneed to be more is destroying her, and cross our fingers in the hopethat she will get what she wants.Tracy's mom Janelle (Noni Hazlehurst) is heartbreaking as a woman who'sseen far too much destruction go on and still spends every wakingmoment waiting for the other shoe to drop. You can almost hear herheart decide not to break when Tracy comes home from what could havebeen a fresh descent into hell.In the end, those who manage to portray themselves falsely fare farworse than those who eventually find the treasure, the nobility, inbeing little "nobodies". In the end it's about being who they are,broken and loving and there for each other.

nobbytatoes

(2013-04-26 08:42:31)

great Australian drama

Tracy is an ex-heroin junkie how has cleaned up and wants to start anew life in her new store' but she cant finance her new endeavor. Herbrother Ray is a speed dealer looking for his big deal, his friendJonny is an ex-deal who is now a stock-broker. Lionel is looking to gostraight, giving up heroin. Tracy's mother Janelle was friends withLionel but broke off when he gave Tracy Herion. Lionel is alsoinfatuated with Brad, his dealer.This is a very strong drama, and its been awhile since Australia hasmade a good drama. The story is a great look at family, friendship, thepain of change and rejection. Jacqueline Perske script is very deep andmulti-layered. There are many sub-plots that keep you constantlythinking. Rowan Wood's direction is a step up from his last feature'The Boys', being more experimental and more unconventional. Thecinematography is wonderful, the use of many washes raise the mood andtension to higher levels, tightening the atmosphere of depression.This has a stellar cast; Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Noni Hazlehurst,Sam Neill, Lisa McCune, Martin Henderson and Dustin Nguyen all givestrong performances, not a single flaw in the acting. Blanchett andWeaving give great career performances, Weaving is just brilliant.Hazlehurst brings a performance so shockingly different, this is notthe Nomi you know from 'Play School'.The only thing i felt was wrong with Little Fish is its just abit tolong. If it was cut down by ten minutes or so, it would have the pacingmore faster and get to the point a lot quicker.This is a spring board of better things to come out of Australia.

Al W

(2013-04-20 22:47:20)

Decent and great casting movie

This is probably one of the most realistic and fairest movie inrelation to drug issues. It is not like "Requiem for a dream", butgenuinely portraying stories of people who encounter the uncertaintyand hopelessness of life and future.The casts in this movie are great. Hugo Weaving especially is soamazing, and as playing the role of a drug user, it is totallybelievable! Cate Blanchett keeps up her usual standard of high qualityof performance. Sam Neill, Lisa McCune, Martin Henderson, NoniHazlehurst, Joel Tobeck and the rest of the supporting casts are doingso well in this movie. The only bit of disappointment is DustinNguyen's performance- a little bit too wooden and dry.The music is good, and I love Bic Runga (Aussie singer) singingSOMETHING'S GOTTEN HOLD OF MY HEART in the movie. Her voice fits welland builds up a great atmosphere for the movie.To sum up, it is one of the best Australian movie in 2005, and forpeople who lives in Australia, please support the local film industryand local talents.

Scarecrow-88

(2013-04-20 08:34:20)

Little Fish

Tracy(Cate Blanchett, brilliant as ever)has been sober from a nastyheroin habit(among other drugs)introduced to her by mum's ex-beau, aonce prominent soccer star, Lionel(Hugo Weaving, who gives a hauntingpowerful performance). The film takes up after being sober for a whileand working at a video rental in hopes to get a loan that will bring ininternet gaming and perhaps her own ownership of said store. Her pastcredit problems halt those plans and finding a way to raise the moneyshe needs is ever so difficult. She cares deeply for Lionel who, I'msure, was a father to her in that time when she needed one. Yet,Lionel's life has descended because of his intense drug habit and hissugar daddy(and homosexual lover)Brad(Sam Neill)is retiring from thelife of drug boss. His right-hand man, Steven(Joel Tobeck)wishes to gointo business on his own, but behind Brad's back. Ray(MartinHenderson), Tracy's brother wishes to pull drug deals with Steven andfinds a partner in a returning friend from Vacouver, Jonny(DustinNguyen). Jonny is Tracy's ex and the man responsible for a car crashthat cost his best friend Ray one leg. Jonny was sent to Vancouver as ameans for breaking his drug habit and perhaps starting some sort ofcareer for himself. Once Jonny returns that flame is still burningbetween he and Tracy. Tracy and Ray's mum, Janelle(Noni Hazlehurst), isreally at her wit's end constantly worried that her adult children willbreak their sobriety and wind up back on drugs. Their pasts have causedmuch anguish and horror. Jonny's return only fuels that, not tomention, Lionel's troubles at going straight. She knows Tracy andLionel have an unbreakable bond which might lead to her getting himdrugs when he has no freebies coming his way.This "drugs and their effects" drama is supremely well acted by thismarvelous cast without one faulty performance from the lot. It has arealistic feel to it and, most importantly, you care for thesecharacters because the cast is able to make them human, notcarciatures. My only real problem is a rather unresolved ending whichleaves a lot of loose ends untied.

niall-14

(2013-04-16 17:18:29)

Disturbingly Honest

It's a disturbingly honest film portraying a hauntingly familiar lifeand how it is affected by the seamy drug/underworld of Sydney's Asiancommunity. That's not to say that only the Asian community has drug andunderworld problems, but it makes for an interesting and colourfulbackdrop for a complicated but compelling story. In fact, even now twohours after we left the cinema, I'm still mildly troubled by theseeming hopelessness of the confused lives portrayed. It was so real,so close to the bone. The characters could easily be you, or me. Asanother reviewer stated:"There's no light-the tunnel goes on forever." A pretty accurateassessment.I've heard it said that for Blanchett and Weaving their performancesrank as personal bests, but I'm not all that sure I'd go that far withWeavings. He was good, very, very good as the broken-down drug-riddenex-football star but Blanchett's performance as the reformed addictdesperately trying to get her life together, to set up her own businessand actually resurrect something from the pathetic life she has, wasabsolutely amazing. Her character is both complex and simplistic all atonce. You can detest and love her, feel sympathy and disdain and findby movie's end you're aware that she could so easily be you.Included in the cast as perennials the likes of Noni Hazlehurst, LisaMcCune and Sam Neill all played sound parts but not a patch on theleads. The balance of the cast are movie journeymen/women who have manyand varied backgrounds. None were overly outstanding, although I foundthe character of Jonny, Blanchett's former boyfriend played by DustinNguyen to be quite well done. He disgusted me for what he was and whathe wanted to be and that's the actors art.Go and see this flick. It's an outstanding example of the Australianfilm industry's capabilities. I rate it 8 out of 10.

pgraham2

(2013-04-15 19:38:46)

Strong roles for Oz and NZ stars

About time we had a good script with strong characters for some of theAntipodes' best stars. A film that will appeal on different levels,depending on your background and knowledge of Sydney, its "littleSaigon" and its drug subculture. The "little fish" are both the junkies(current and ex) treading water or drowning not waving in the cruel seaof a modern society, and the fish-shaped sauce containers that thelatest crop of drugs come in. Hugo Weaving and Sam Neill are brilliantin roles that have borrowed much from Oz sporting and media characters,Noni Hazelhurst is convincing as a suburban mum weighed down by lack oflove and betrayal. Martin Henderson completes the family as thedisabled, junkie boofhead brother. Cate Blanchett is more than passableas the recovering junkie, still living in the middle of the milieu sheis trying to escape. Cabramatta and its Vietnamese community also star,with Dustin Nguyen and his family reflecting the Oz/Viet cultural mix.A film that will appeal strongly to Oz moviegoers, but strong enoughalso to be appreciated by an international audience.

Tim Johnson

(2013-04-13 06:20:45)

There's no light-the tunnel goes on forever.

This film will be many different things to the people that watch it. Iremember one small snippet of conversation and that snippet sums up tome, not only the reality on which the movie is based, but also thephilosophical reality of general existence. Blanchett's character saysto her mother late in the film that she desperately wants the loan tobuy the business she works in because she must, after four years, endthe merry-go-round of waiting on people and getting up and going towork-she wants to own the business herself. A reasonable expectationand Sartre had mulled over these questions and decided that the onlyway out of this human mire was to find happiness and contentment in thecompletion of mundane repetition. Cate should have seen Woman of theDunes from 50 or so years ago and she might have morphed her life intosomething less destructive.Beyond the philosophical implications of the film, the actors didoutstanding work-their roles could easily be said to be individual bestin all cases. The direction by Woods was as good as the acting-to bringout such uniformly great work from such a big cast speaks well of hiswork. The cinematography by Ruhlmann matched perfectly the torture inthe lives depicted on screen. The extraordinary big closeup shotsaccompanied by the harsh lighting matched the tension and, at least Ithought, hopelessness of the story.As I said in the title, there was no light at the end of their tunnel.Although there was no certain death or destruction, the viewer is leftknowing that the future will roll along as the past had rolled alongand that is the bleakest thing you could contemplate. There was noexistential satisfaction in pushing the Sysaphean rock up the hill andwe are left with just the dark tunnel.

inloveandlovingit

(2013-04-12 16:19:32)

Little Fish...little surprise

What a stunning indie film about the web of drugs and addiction...interesting story,well acted and written..Cate Blanchett dazzles again and props to Dustin Ngyun..it's been a long time since 21 Jump Street...see this movie...

(2013-04-08 23:42:16)

Too much reality

Like one of the previous reviewers I purchased this movie on the reputations of Cate Blanchett & Sam Neill. Should have read the description of the movie on the back of the box more closely. I generally watch a movie for the escape from reality factor. This one too closely mirrors the reality I see and read about in western society everyday. If I want to see drug addicted losers with no morals all I have to do is view the world that surrounds me on any given day.So I give the movie two stars not for the acting, but for the content. I don't find a story line that features druggies and the drama that surrounds their lives particularly intriguing or entertaining.

(2013-04-08 08:32:29)

Swims with the big fish admirably

This movie is as the best Australian movies tend to be,in your face,unflinching and with a realism that holds onto you long after it has ended.I am an Australian who lives in America and i really wish that more movies here tackled issues no matter how distasteful or life affirming in this manner.There are fine movies made here to be sure,but so many swap realism for a cutout or so called sexier version of it.The performances by Blanchett and the rest of the cast are great.Nothing is overused or watered down in the many scenes that while on the surface appearing mundane are loaded with venom or longing like the drug the movie is centered around.The spareness of scenes like tracy back at the train station scoring then stumbling past the children's choir singing an anthen like version of Cold Chisel's Flame trees is so full of longing that i could almost feel myself thinking of situations and times in my own life.If you like reality that hurts like life does at times watch this and it will remind you that movies that confront reality make understanding yourself that little bit easier.Ian.