Little Fish (2005)

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

Director:

Rowan Woods

Writer:

Jacquelin Perske

Stars:

Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving

12 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Daniela Farinacci	...	Donna
Ferdinand Hoang	...	Khiem
Anh Do	...	Tran
Jason Chong	...	Mingh

Storyline

In Sydney, Tracey Heart is a thirty-two years old manager of a video shop ex-addicted in heroin and clean for four years. She is trying to raise forty thousand dollars to buy a shop for computer games on the next door of the rental and become partner of her boss, but based on her negative records, the banks deny the loan. Tracey takes care of her junkie stepfather Lionel Dawson, unsuccessfully trying to make him quit his heroin habit. When her former boy-friend Jonny returns from Vancouver, Tracey's mother Janelle fears a fall of Tracey, while she blames Jonny for the car accident where her son Ray lost one leg. When Ray and Jonny associate to Moss, the assistant of the retired criminal boss Bradley 'The Jockey' Thompson, in drug dealing, Tracey is convinced by Jonny to join them and raise the necessary money for her business along the weekend.

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Plot Keywords:

heroin | drugs | junkie | drug dealing | bank | 

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Taglines:

The past is right here

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

Vietnamese English

Release Date:

8 September 2005 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Dag katan

Filming Locations:

Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£51,233 (UK) (21 July 2006)

Gross:

£112,829 (UK) (28 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Porchlight Films, Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Mullis Capital Independent

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Quotes

Janelle: She's doing great. She opening her own shop.
Tracy Heart: Mum. I going into partnership with Min who I work for at the video shop. they're expanding into internet online gaming.

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Connections

Features Farscape (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"
Written by Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook
Produced, Arranged & Performed by Bic Runga
Courtesy of Paper Cup
Engineered by Luke Tomes
Mixed by Luke Tomes & Bic Runga
Published by Dick James Music Ltd
Administered by Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd

User Reviews

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.