Ratcatcher - Criterion Collection Rating: Release Date: 10 September, 2002 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: John King Stephen King Andrew Miller John Matthews Complete Cast (10 total)

Ratcatcher - Criterion Collection Reviews

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An Intriguing and Profound view of a Childhood's Guilty Conscience
In Lynne Ramasay's beautiful and poignant film "Ratcatcher," we are introuduced with a an interesting child James who accidently causes the death of another child by mere innocent rough housing. It is completley playful and unintentional. Set during the severe and devestating garbage strike of the 70's in Scotland James finds himself attempting to interpret this harsh and adverse time period. James like so many ubiquitous children express different ways of a guilty conscience. He does not cry or or simply admit his sorrow directly but combats with it another form. His short but frequent flashbacks contribute to his odd and volatile personality. When confronted with other adults he is socially akward and at sometimes lifeless. Lynn Ramsey is able to depict the dreary gloomy Scotland climate and landscape into something beautiful and unforgettable. We as an audience are finally treated with some sparse yet poignant luminscent days. The dream like landscapes contribute to the devestating atomsphere as well as James's investigative perspective as he absorbs the various surroundings. Criterion Collection does an excellent job with the transfer as well as the sparse but intriguing supplements. Deff. worth a view....If not a "shoe in" for any Criterion afficianado.

Images and sounds of beauty and death. I bought two copies.
James is trapped. In his life and in his mind. Only he knows what's happened at the canal--he thinks. And then alone just he sees the end.

Anyone, adult or child who's seen the worst echoing despair will understand this film through the most visceral level. James' reality only tangentially touches the filth and bullies around him. Incomplete, under-repair psychological wreckage and a heartfelt two-finger flip are the only defenses he has. He grasps some hope, but it's a life-line to nowhere.

This film drops us into a surging maelstrom of poverty, grief (the horrific scene with dead boy's shoes), guilt, and hormones. In those few moments on the canal-side, everything James relied upon is taken under. He feels deeply but has no voice (both James, and William literally endure with no lines), and can find no path to resolution.

Ramsey's picture is art. It is not meant to entertain, but to rip the viewer's heart out. It's goal is her Truth, not popcorn or pounds. She succeeds on every level. The images are gorgeous, framed for maximum impact. The soundtrack so complimentary that the viewer is largely unaware of its effects. My favorite, and amongst the greatest five minutes in all cinema, is James riding away--as far as the bus will take him.

I own two copies of this film. I couldn't survive without a copy. I've battled some of James' demons, and on the Chaplain's staff at juvenile hall, I've seen the worst they can do. This picture reaches Truth; in a boy, and all who are human.

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