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Little Fish Director: Rowan Wood Rated: MA 15+ Palace/Nova 
Tracy Heart (Cate Blanchett) is a 32 year old ex-heroin addict who has managed to stay clean for four years and hold down a steady job as a manager at a small video store. It took a serious car accident in which her brother Ray (Martin Henderson) lost a leg and her then boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen) was the driver to eventually turn their lives around and liberate the three from heavy drug use and small time dealing.Jonny has moved to Canada to make a new start in the world of stockbroking, and Cate has been given a chance at co-ownership of the video store she works at; all that needs to be approved is the business loan from the bank. 'Little Fish' is the exceptional sophomore feature film from acclaimed Australian director Rowan Wood, whose 1999 debut 'The Boys' continues to shock audiences with it's raw and astonishingly honest portrayal of another outer-suburban Sydney family torn apart by domestic violence. However, unlike 'The Boys' Sprague family, the Heart's appear to have overcome their troubled history and for their mother Janelle (Noni Hazelhurst), she's proudly content in believing that her two children have finally begun to find their way in the world. That is, until Jonny returns home to Australia and rekindles Ray's interest in setting up drug deals, and Tracy's emotional insecurities concerning their past relationship and the hardships he created for the family due to the car crash. In the meantime Tracy's loan application has been rejected and she hasn't yet been able to break the bad news to anyone, including her mother's former lover, ex-rugby champion Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving) who harbours a few secrets of his own and to whom Tracy still remains close. Desperate for money, Tracy becomes involved in Ray and Jonny's plan for some quick cash - helping crime boss Brad "The Jockey" Thompson's (Sam Neill) moonlighting right-hand man Steve Moss (Joel Tobeck). She becomes involved in the arrangement with devastating effect. Meticulously researched and perfectly cast, 'Little Fish' again demonstrates Wood's ability to create a less than savoury reality and flesh out every inch of human frailty without ever conceding to cliche, yet still managing to evoke characters that remain suburban and identifiable. Whilst deception, either wrongly intentional or as a defence mechanism, could be seen as a common personality trait of the characters; what gives this harrowing and yet beautifully passive portrayal of everyday people an edge is the fact that all their faults and virtues are laid out for us to judge. It's up to us to agree or disagree with their reasoning. Go see this film, if not only for the A-list cast assembled here, but to also experience a story that will live with you for a long time to come.  |
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