Fish Tank takes place in the sort of East London neighbourhood that many people will recognise. Life is unremittingly grim for 15-year old Mia, who has dropped out of school, antagonised her friends, has continual conflicts with her young, disaffected mother, and is desperate for affection in a barren, semi-industrial landscape. It is an environment defined by blaring music, youth gangs, alcohol abuse and shouted confrontations. Young Mia finds occasional solace by practicing her lone dance routine, and in clumsy attempts to relate to the natural world (a tethered horse; a gasping fish plucked from a lake).

Into her life comes Connor, her mother’s new boyfriend. He is a gently-spoken Irishman who offers Mia encouragement and has the willingness to listen to her woes. However the film springs some very uncomfortable surprises, and the great achievement of Andrea Arnold, the writer and director, is to never let us fall into easy assumptions about what makes these people tick, and we empathise with them despite their manifest flaws. She also extracts three stunning central performances from Michael Fassbender as Connor, Kierston Wareing as the mother and especially Katie Jarvis as Mia. She is hardly ever off screen and is the magnetic centre of the film, her unforced expression rendering curiosity, confusion, distaste and anger in equal measure.

I take issue with the final shot which offers a rather clunky symbol for optimism, but Arnold’s control of her material is exemplary. It is noticeable that at several key moments it is the sound of Mia’s breathing which dominates the soundtrack. Awards consideration should follow.