“The evocative debut feature of acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay is a lyrical portrait of growing up poor and a hushed, haunting meditation on trauma.

Set in and around a squalid tenement block during a garbage strike in Glasgow in the mid-1970s, Ratcatcher centres on a solemn 12-year-old boy (William Eadie) tormented by his role in the accidental death of a friend by drowning. When the body is found, he says nothing of his involvement. Withdrawing from his family and into himself, he finds unexpected solace in the tender companionship of an outcast girl, abused by neighbourhood ruffians.

Writer-director Ramsay, a photographer and maker of award-winning shorts, crafts a sobering work of British urban realism that, despite its kitchen-sink trappings, possesses astonishing moments of pure visual poetry and a bold willingness to portray the inner life of its child protagonist. A brilliant and distinctive first feature.”

– The Cinematheque

IMDB: 7.5 / RT: 85%
Lynne Ramsey, UK
1999 Drama, M
93 mins