Little Fish (2005)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Rowan Woods

Writer:

Jacquelin Perske (written by)

Release Date:

8 September 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The past is right here

Plot:

Set in the Little Saigon district outside of Sydney, a woman (Blanchett) trying to escape her past becomes embroiled in a drug deal.

Plot Keywords:

Heroin | Junkie | Bank | Little Saigon | Ex Boyfriend

Awards:

12 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Cate Blanchett	...	Tracy
Sam Neill	...	The Jockey
Hugo Weaving	...	Lionel
Martin Henderson	...	Ray
Noni Hazlehurst	...	Janelle
Dustin Nguyen	...	Jonny
Joel Tobeck	...	Moss
Lisa McCune	...	Laura
Susie Porter	...	Jenny
Nina Liu	...	Mai
Linda Cropper	...	Denise
Daniella Farinacci	...	Donna (as Daniela Farinacci)
Ferdinand Hoang	...	Khiem
Anh Do	...	Tran
Jason Chong	...	Mingh

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug content and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

Australia:114 min | USA:114 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

Vietnamese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | UK:15 | Malaysia:18PL | Ireland:16 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

One of the characters was originally meant to have been gone for a few years in Hong Kong. However, after shooting, they realized that the actor had a slightly American accent, so changed all references to Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada.

Quotes:

Tracy Heart: The past is right here. It's right here.

Movie Connections:

Features "Farscape" (1999)

Soundtrack:

A Place in the Sun

excellent acting

This is an interesting movie, well worth seeing, even though it has substantial failings. Evenness of pace is probably its most debilitating aspect: the slow, steady plod to the climax prevents that climax from being quite as climactic as it should be. Also, the director and his DOP are too in love with the hand-held camera for their own good: too much of it really is irritating, and there is much too much of it in this film. Having said that, there are some wonderful shots and juxtaposition of shots, moving us from warm reds to cool blues and back again. As far as the plot is concerned, the characters are all too neatly slotted into it, emphasising the story's artificiality, which plays against naturalism of the acting, just as the snappy editing plays against the hand-held camera-work. .Compare and contrast THE USUAL SUSPECTS, which is so wonderfully artificial throughout that its story's twists, turns and games, and the theatrical turns 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 is terrific. Blanchett is a rare leading actress, capable of convincing us she's an ordinary working girl - one simply can't imagine, for example, Kidman taking this role on and making it so real and touching. Sam Neill, cast against type, is wonderfully loathsome. Martin Henderson, Dustin Nguyen, Joel Tobeck - all give top-class support. But the revelation is Hugo Weaving, who is magnificent as the drug-addicted former star-sportsman. Can this be the same actor who has been marking his time in THE MATRIX and LORD OF THE RINGS? Amazingly, it is. A totally convincing transformation. All in all, an only just better-than-average thriller, greatly enhanced by its actors.