Ratcatcher (1998)

Featured Audience Ratings

• AJ V

  
  A gritty, realistic, sort of depressing movie, but if you like those kinds of dramas, it's really good. I think it was a good movie.

• Lady D

  
  This is a film that has always been highly recommended to me and whilst I believe this to be a film that has portrayed a gritty Drama, with a realistic setting and very natural performances, I seemed to have missed the point to the film. the storyline to me failed to deliver a means… More
  This is a film that has always been highly recommended to me and whilst I believe this to be a film that has portrayed a gritty Drama, with a realistic setting and very natural performances, I seemed to have missed the point to the film. the storyline to me failed to deliver a means to an end, which is such a shame because it's of great quality.

• Spencer S

  
  In the garbage strewn and rat infested streets of 70's Glasglow, there lies the rudimentary cinematic climax: that of poverty. For the young and still slightly innocent James, his downward spiral into depression starts with the death of a friend, possibly at his own hand. As the… More
  In the garbage strewn and rat infested streets of 70's Glasglow, there lies the rudimentary cinematic climax: that of poverty. For the young and still slightly innocent James, his downward spiral into depression starts with the death of a friend, possibly at his own hand. As the film progresses, the gritty reality of living in a slum, smellier than usual thanks to a garbage strike, becomes all too hard for him, and he frequently escapes to a model home in the country. Though he is tormented by a group of spiteful teenage boys, he does meet and fall for a girl who's glasses reside in the canal James fears to enter. The historical context and the ramifications of the many character's actions never fall under plausible. only possible. James' family is awaiting a transfer into a new house as the tenements they live in are being bought and demolished. Hope glides beneath the surface,as they battle each other with hate filled words and violence. The worst horror is the manifestation of bile within James' friend, once a member of the RSPCA, and now he himself kills the rats that infest the garbage piles surrounded them on all sides. Very bleak and dreary, you always wish for something better for James, a protaganist that may be the only unsullied person left.

• Cassandra M

  
  One of the best British films of the nineties, Ratcatcher is a powerful evocation of the uncertainty and surreal nature of childhood. The film also has something to say about family relationships, death, and the toll poverty takes on people (in this case, in the Glasgow of the… More
  One of the best British films of the nineties, Ratcatcher is a powerful evocation of the uncertainty and surreal nature of childhood. The film also has something to say about family relationships, death, and the toll poverty takes on people (in this case, in the Glasgow of the seventies). Although the film could be criticised for being fairly slow-paced, I think this is entirely missing the point. The film is more about atmosphere than a linear plot, and the lingering, intriguing glimpses it offers of the young character's life will stay in your memory like a particularly vivid dream. I expect great things of Lynne Ramsay in the future.

• Cynthia S

  
  This movie is very tricky to rate, because the subject matter is so real and human, which automatically gives it a edge over a large number of films. The acting is superb, by adults and youngsters alike. The film technique fits the mood and hard times of the characters very well, and… More
  This movie is very tricky to rate, because the subject matter is so real and human, which automatically gives it a edge over a large number of films. The acting is superb, by adults and youngsters alike. The film technique fits the mood and hard times of the characters very well, and it grabs your attention. Nevertheless, the downfall is found in the speed of the film, which has you wondering at times when action will resume. Apart from that, this was one really well done film that absolutely required subtitles.

• Anthony L

  
  I love Lynne Ramsay's films. When the mouse made it to the moon was my favourite part.

• Randy T

  
  Casting, directing, cinematography, scripting... <i>Ratcatcher</i> is firing on all cylinders. *NOTE: Even though it is an english language film I had to revert to subtitles or risk missing about a third of the dialog due to the thick dialect.

• El Hombre I

  
  Far from sentimental despite its' subject matter, the film doesn't present reality, but a boy's vision of reality as he dreams of escaping guilt among the countless gorgeous piles of trash during the garbage strike in Glasgow. Conclusive tidiness is definitely the… More
  Far from sentimental despite its' subject matter, the film doesn't present reality, but a boy's vision of reality as he dreams of escaping guilt among the countless gorgeous piles of trash during the garbage strike in Glasgow. Conclusive tidiness is definitely the biggest flaw of the film, but am looking forward to seeing more from director Lynne Ramsay who shows that a cold, outer shell is a necessity in the world, sometimes. Without it, life would be unendurable. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=ratcatcher2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/ratcatcher2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Stella D

  
  dreamy, lyrical, gritty and tragic. gorgeous cinematography and great naturalism from the actors. watch with subs as the glaswegian dialect is impenetrable. for fans of kes

• Gordon A

  
  Naturalistic tour de force

• Daniel P

  
  Stunningly photographed snapshot of "working class" Glasgow in the 1970s from a young boy's perspective. Review soon.

• Emily B

  
  A wonderful film. Lynne Ramsay shows her skill, it's criminal she's only made two feature films so far, I just hope her latest project eventually gets off the ground.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings