Brutality and hope intertwine in this quiet coming-of-age story. Set in a Glasgow, Scotland, slum during a 1973 trash collectors' strike, the film follows young James, shaken after accidentally causing the death of a friend, who dreams of moving into newly built council flats. The loosely plotted slice-of-life piece moves between James's family and his friendship with Kenny, a slightly off animal fancier, and the older Margaret Anne. Though the setting is grim, the movie is far from bleak. Even as the trash bags pile up, James takes comfort in something as simple as being combed for head lice. The cast is excellent, and writer-director Lynne Ramsay coaxes astonishingly good performances out of her child actors. Complex and haunting, Ratcatcher holds a silent wish at its center. The DVD includes an interview with Ramsay, and three of her short films. --Ali Davis
(15 votes)
2.
Lynne Ramsey's bleak, beautifully photographed debut unflinchingly portrays life in a Glasgow housing project during the 1973 garbageworkers strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James Gillespie (William Eadie, in a soulful debut). As the film opens, James is playing with a friend near a filthy canal behind the projects when his friend tragically falls into the water and drowns. James chooses not to tell anyone that he saw the boy die, knowing that he will be implicated. This secret, along with his increasing lack of communication with his drunken football-loving father, causes James to become increasingly withdrawn, fantasizing about his family moving to a newly constructed apartment complex at the city limits on the edge of a beautiful, golden field of grain. As the garbage piles up and rats take up residency around the complex as if they were new tenants, James finds temporary solace in his friendships with Kenny, an odd boy who loves animals, and Margaret Anne, a teenage misfit who lets the local boys use her body as they wish.
While undeniably grim, RATCATCHER manages to combine unusually rich imagery and spare use of dialogue to create a realistic portrait of a simultaneously beautiful and cruel world. Punctuated with unexpected humor, Ramsey's film is subtle and rewarding.
(15 votes)
3.
"Jolting… vibrant." -Entertainment Weekly
In her breathtaking and assured debut feature, Lynne Ramsey creates a haunting evocation of a troubles Glasgow childhood. Set during Scotland's national garbage strike of the mid-1970s, Ratcatcher explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him. Utilizing beautiful, elusive imagery, candid performances, and unexpected humor, Ratcatcher deftly contrasts urban decay with a rich interior landscape of hope and perseverance, resulting in a work at once raw and deeply poetic.
(15 votes)
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