Fish Tank Analysis

Scene
Micro features
Narrative features and ideological analysis





























Cinematography
  • Close up of the fish forces the spectator to face the harsh reality of what connor has done, and could evoke sympathy for the fish, which is later on mirrored in our sympathy for mia when she too is ‘caught’ by connor.
  • chiaroscuro - mia and connor are in the dark while the rest of the frame is lit by the sun. The fact that they’re in the dark displays how the nature of their relationship is also kept in the dark, and foreshadows how these two characters will be involved in a big, dark secret later on.
Sound
  • the sound becomes more focused on the water - we don’t hear joanne or tyler, making it a tranquil scene, showing how without her family, and with connor, mia feels at peace, there is no conflict in her life.
Mise-en-scene
  • blocking - there is always a big proxemics between mia and her mother and sister, a physical rendering of the separation she feels between them. When Mia goes in the water, the separation is even more clear .
  • framing - when mia goes into the water, initially, her mother and sister remain in the background, making comments which she ignores showing how mia is trying to break away from the pessimism of her family. They eventually come out of frame, and we stop hearing them - in this brief moment, mia is finally free.
  • one shot places mia and connor in opposing positions in the frame - they mirror each other. This shows how they both have the same intent - to have a sexual relationship with each other, however, the fact that they are opposing each other shows the conflict between them and the legality/morality of their relationship.

The dragonfly disappears before Joanne can see it - she can’t see the beauty in the world that mia can.

By creating an opposition of man (connor) vs nature (the fish), connor is displayed as a predator. By having Connor being skilled at catching a fish, and also doing it subtly with no difficulty, his predatory characteristic is reinforced. This also mirrors how he ‘caught’ mia - we weren’t 100% sure of his intentions with her until he finally has sex with her. Connor also mentions how the fish here are easy to catch as no-one comes here, which is reflective of how Mia is young and vulnerable, and so was also and ‘easy catch’.

Mia cuts herself in the water which represents the unseen dangers of delving into the murky world of their relationship - she is willing to go into these ‘minging’ waters.

Connor in this scene is teaching mia how to catch the fish - this passing down of knowledge through the generations can be seen as something that typically, a father would do, highlighting the perverse nature of him having sex with her. The whole film oscillates between their relationship being father/lover , in this scene, he is carrying out the social norm of the father. He does this again when he wraps cloth around her injury , which also emphasises her vulnerability.

By using sound to put focus on the water, what also comes to the attention of the spectator is the symbolism of the water. By going into the waters, there is a sense of purity and cleansing that Mia goes through to reach connor. This is a red herring as what one might infer is that their relationship is pure and clean, although it takes a much darker, unexpected turn later on. There is also a contrast in the purity of mia and connor being in touch with nature and the impurity of Joanne, who whips out a fag. This highlights the separation between Mia and her mother, how they both have different values and attitudes - mia is willing to step into the water

Later on in the film, the fish is seen to be eaten by the dog. Seeing how this has come after an argument between Mia and Connor, it can be said that the fish is symbolic of their relationship, like a souvenir from a bonding experience they had, and now that their relationship is tarnished, the fish too is destroyed.

The title of the film ‘Fish Tank’ connotes entrapment, something which Mia might feel about her life. This scene links to the tite as having the fish caught and killed could be conveying the message that Mia feels as though she’s escaped her destiny to have a dead-end life like her mother’s now that she has someone new in her life , and is also given the chance to audition, yet all that ends horribly for her (just like it did the fish).










Scene
Micro features
Narrative features and ideological analysis





13:20 - 15:42























Cinematography
  • Medium close up of Mia’s waist while she’s dancing shows that part of her ambition and desired path in life will lead to her sexualisation and objectification. The choice of clothing (pyjamas) highlights how she is still a child, and so there is an opposition between her innocence as a child and her desire to be accepted as a grown up woman.
  • POV shot - we see what she is looking at - the camera moves from the tea to focus on connor (he becomes central to the frame), showing that she is looking at his body. He is framed to be the only subject/object in the frame, as he is her sole focus.
  • Lighting - when he is first shown, the light from outside is beaming on his body, showing how she views him with some angelic/god-like perfection, and how he is bringing light into an otherwise drab life.

Sound

  • Throughout the scene, the music video remains heard in the background, however the moment he leaves the kitchen the music fades out, as if when they are together it is part of some romanticised fantasy like in a music video, and when he leaves, the fantasy, and sexual atmosphere created by the music which is sexual by nature, is over.

Editing

  • Kuleshov effect - as connor comes in and starts speaking to her, she looks at the TV screen, showing a man and a woman dancing together intimately - she was trying to imitate what was going on in the video , and now that the video shows her dance requires a man, the spectator can infer that she feels as if in order to fulfil her ambition, she must find a man (conveniently, connor is there)

Mise-en-scene

  • Connor is topless so that there is a sexual nature to the introduction between the two characters.
  • The placement of the TV means that Mia has to look down on it. This shows how her ambition to become a dancer is rather degrading, and is both figuratively and literally ‘low’. The TV is also quite small, anchoring the point that becoming a dancer for music videos isn’t the most valuable nor biggest ambition to have.
  • At the end when connor leaves, she follows him, showing how she is drawn to him and is curious of where he came from.

Performance:
  • Mia’s eyes are always drawn to his body then immediately pulled away to avoid eye contact - this makes her feelings for him clear, while also showing how what her feelings might develop into are morally wrong, she is struggling between giving in to her urges and not breaking the law.

This is part of the fragmentation of Mia’s body, an obsession over small parts such as the waist portray her as a sexual object, which the spectator can later infer was what Connor was looking at when he came in. Connor is watching for an unknown amount of time - he is subtle in his ways yet still predatory, just like his intentions are unknown until they have sex.


While Mia was initially making the tea, connor takes over. This shows his dominance over her and the household (which he walks around as if he owns), how he is a conformist to the societal norm of the male to take charge, while she is the passive character who stands to the side and watches him. In terms of blocking, it is almost like she is forced to step out of any act in the kitchen, she is pushed back by his dominion over the setting.

opposition between her innocence as a child and her desire to be accepted as a grown up woman.

binary opposition of him being the homemaker (making tea is something the homeowner does not the guest) and the lover

Mia could never fulfil the Oedipal trajectory as she never had a father, and so her supposed ‘penis envy’ has not been developed nor gotten rid of. Therefore, when Connor is introduced into her life, this is a new feeling for her, and she is likely to experience the symptoms of the Oedipal pathway, that being an obsession with the male father figure, one with a sexual nature, that causes her to feel the need to impress/ be flirtatious with the father, shown later on in the film when she dances for him and is willing to fish with him.

Comments

Popular Posts