15 Essential Films You Might've Missed From This Decade (So Far)

8. Fish Tank

Michael Fassbinder may have hit the big time over the last few years with roles in movies like Inglourious Basterds, Prometheus and X-Men: First Class, but he's not averse to appearing in much smaller independent projects if the role is worthwhile, and it's in this category of films where Fish Tank lies. The second film from Andrea Arnold, whose debut Red Road was released to much acclaim, Fish Tank is another high quality entry into the recent output of British cinema which deals with people on the lower end of the social spectrum. More a slice of life work of cinema than a narrative-driven drama, Fish Tank focuses on teenage girl Mia Williams as she struggles to find friends and rein in her wayward behaviour. Coming-of-age dramas have a tendency to sink into rose-tinted idealism - Fish Tank's realism and loose structure set it apart from the rest of the crowd, unafraid of avoiding neat conclusions much in the same way that adolescence is an imperceptibly unfolding process.