Ratcatcher (1999)

Jan 10

The art film directors wish they made.

Presentation:

Authentic is the first word that comes to mind. This film is similar to Billy Elliot except much darker. Being Lynne Ramsay’s first feature film, the film is honest, pure and untainted from any mainstream appeal to have a singularly original vision. It’s a beautiful coming of age tale of a boy growing up in 1973 Glasglow, poor ghettos, gangs and family life that feel raw and genuine. Their accent is one of the strongest I’ve heard in cinema surpassing Snatch, so I think subtitles are mandatory for this viewing. Natural lighting, film, subjective focus, handheld, it is very clearly an art film focusing on mood and tone. It wholly captures the essence of life in this time period and for 90 minutes you genuinely feel like you are living in their shoes. It’s a quiet film, but it should still grab your attention within 5 minutes with a gripping story of tragedy, growing pains and just life. A solemn, but also beautiful piece of storytelling.

Analysis:

Does he drown in the end? You may interpret the ending that he commits suicide or he doesn’t and moves into the house. It's intentionally ambiguous, however there is more evidence to suggest it is a metaphorical drowning. James feels guilty throughout a lot of the movie and most of his interactions with water are of fear. He accidentally kills a friend, is almost thrown in by the boys and is unable to retrieve the glasses of his friend in the water. It is only once he meets her that things change, which is illustrated by them bathing together and the house being renovated after the rain. It could be seen that the canal is the channel for growing up, a vessel for change in Glasgow spanning before and after protests and political demonstrations. I don’t think this metaphor is particularly deep, the sequences with him drowning are more to suggest his internal punishment and coping with his crime, which he feels after the climax of Kenny accusing him of murder, a result of James first saying Kenny killed the rat. That brings us the the title of the film, suggesting that rats, though dirty and flawed, can also journey to the moon. Like humans, such dreams are probably beyond reality. If you think the rat went to moon like Kenny, you probably also think James moved into his dream house at the end. If you think the rat died, then you are more likely to believe he drowned himself. Sort of a litmus test for cynical audiences. The film is about perspective, exploring how we may be forced to first drown in order to be reborn and move on through the difficulties of life.

Conclusion:

This is what directors compare themselves to making it even more surprising that it’s Lynne’s first film. Sometimes the first film is the most original and more easily manages to capture lighting in the bottle. Whatever the reason, everything in this film just works. The mood is on point. Performances, relationships and motivations are spot on. In terms of script, this is a perfect story and brilliantly executed. Nothing feels wasted while still having bountiful stillness to allow you to soak in emotions. Many directors will try to validate their artistic craft with an art house film or coming of age tale, but very rarely are they able to present it without any pretentiousness. This is one of the most authentic coming of age films you never heard of, only because of its colloquial dialect.

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