February 15–22, 2001

movie shorts

Ratcatcher

The imagery in Lynne Ramsay’s feature debut comes at right angles to the story, pulling you up and away from the morbid tale of murderous Glasgow poverty. Like other directors who’ve made the transition from poetic shorts to more conventional features (Jane Campion, Under the Skin’s Carine Adler), Ramsay sprinkles her narrative with arty tableaux which sometimes derail the story — you can get away with such indulgences in a short, but the full-length format is less forgiving. Still, sometimes it’s a relief to be given a chance to breathe, as Ratcatcher’s plot is unremittingly bleak. Beginning with 12-year-old James (William Eadie) accidentally drowning another boy in a waste-clogged canal, the film is set during a garbage strike; filth piles up literally in the streets as it does metaphorically in the characters’ lives. We clutch at the few moments of hope like drowners clinging to driftwood — a half-smile or a moment of kindness seem like epiphanies. While it doesn’t have sophistication to match its visuals, Ratcatcher builds to a profound truth: that life can only be lived once we’ve confronted death.

—Sam Adams