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| Genre: | Drama |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Rating: | NR |
| Length: | 1h 34mins |
| Cast: | Lynne Ramsay, Lynne Ramsay, William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan |
Powerful acting and a keen sense of milieu make director Lynne Ramsay's debut feature, Ratcatcher, a rare find indeed. The search for a sliver of beauty amid the squalor of a Glasgow slum drives the plot, as 12-year old James (William Eadie) gingerly sidesteps a drunken father, a fierce band of local boys, and the festering canal that runs like a scar across the city. Ratcatcher begins with an fatal event -- the accidental drowning of James's friend in the canal -- and soon envelops us in a world of physical and emotional brutality. There are, however, pockets of hope. James occasionally visits a housing development to which his family dreams of moving, and the scene in which he frolics in a field behind the property showcases Ramsay's imaginative vision. The most impressive aspect of Ratcatcher is its unflinching view of frequently troubling subjects: Sorrows often go unmourned and unresolved, and judgment is never passed. Richly textured and directed with a refreshing, minimalist sensibility, Ratcatcher is one of the finer meditations on urban decay in recent memory. Jeffrey Iorio
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