Little Fish | Review

Addiction movie proposes a different score.

Drug & alcohol addiction themed movies often follow the same narrative trajectory and stomach the same out of control inventory elements of syringes, blackened spoons and the score. While Aussie helmer Rowan Woods’ mostly sidesteps the romance of scoring the hit, he certainly addresses the issue of settling the score. Grainy, dark, honestly vivid, Little Fish looks at how separation anxiety applies to all people and in various forms and here Woods examines how one’s own free will and one’s addiction or former habit battle for supremacy. With the universal commonality of the broken family held by thin thread syndrome and a Cate Blanchett in the lead role suggest that this is a gross domestic product worth exporting into international art-house markets.

There a commonality between the romance-driven picture and a drug and addiction subgenre – both demonstrate how a powerful force can take hold on the individual. Here, Jacquelin Perske’ script pushes the film’s protagonist to swim in and out of dangerous currents, constantly addressing how dependence is only an infernal knock on the door, dime bag away. Blanchett’s Tracy is constantly reminded of the long-lasting affects of her addiction – and while it may have won many times beforehand, she is clean for good and the desperate plea to get the chance they deserved after living life by the book is elusively out of reach.

When the past revisits her, the family drama doesn’t reach wrecking ball heights, instead Woods displays the fragility of the characters – how their separation from one another leads to an accumulation of lies and several wrong instead of right choices. Though the story always includes the past in the present, the script interestingly never feels the need to visit the past. Character and their histories are revealed in the present – the ripple effects are felt in the manner in which relationships are strained. Danny Ruhlmann’s handheld photography provides the film with a rawness required for interweaved multiple lives affected by addiction. This proposes an interpretation of withdrawal symptoms that is not commonly shown in cinema – and perhaps this is what will hook viewers.

Despite the unnecessary criminal subplot elements, Woods attains a desired authenticity with a perfectly cued score, the multicultural backdrop, the unglamorous look with harsh color tones. Blanchett successfully sheds all of preconceived notions of her other roles – her interpretation of the material and a supporting cast in top form will make sure that you might never look at video store clerks the same way again.

Rating 3 stars