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Little Fish

Play trailer Poster for Little Fish R 2005 1h 53m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Four years clean, video store manager Tracy (Cate Blanchett) lives quietly, avoiding anything that might trigger a heroin relapse. Her ex-boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen) returns, claiming he is now a drug-free banker, and the two begin seeing each other again. Tracy looks after Lionel (Hugo Weaving), the man who introduced her to the drug. But, Lionel is thrown into a panic when his dealer, Brad (Sam Neill), suddenly retires. Lionel begs Tracy to help him score, testing her shaky sobriety.
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Little Fish

Little Fish

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Critics Consensus

Fueled by powerful work from a strong cast led by Cate Blanchett, Little Fish is a hard-hitting story worth watching -- and a major step forward for director Rowan Woods.

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Critics Reviews

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Philip French Guardian The actors give performances of intense naturalness. Jul 22, 2006 Full Review Patrick Peters Empire Magazine Strong performances and meticulous direction make this consistently disconcerting, but the subplot distracts from the moving human drama. Rated: 3/5 Jul 22, 2006 Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out It's a sober, sensitive film ... about degrees of dependency, grief, guilt, recrimination and recuperation. Jul 20, 2006 Full Review Murtada Elfadl Sundays with Cate Cate Blanchett like you've never seen before, gritty and stripped down. Both in look and performance. Rated: B+ May 1, 2020 Full Review Keeva Stratton Rescu (Australia) It's an incredible performance [from Cate Blanchett]. Sep 15, 2017 Full Review Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile A superb cast, mostly playing roles against type, make Little Fish a captivating and emotionally involving film, delivered with the flourish of a filmmaker who knows his craft and what to do with it to reach his audience. Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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K K I do not always want to share favorite things so then others find them-which, for art, and films like this, really everyone needs to discover the magic in them! Cate, Cate, Cate. Where do we start? How about the history of movies has seldom created such a wonderful actor that brings intelligence, passion, mastery and commitment to roles and projects? Yet the thing I like or love about Cate Blanchett is her incredible ability to find the perfect entry point of the character. Wow, Cate! Blanchett is incredible! Seldom, if ever, have I watched a film with Cate in it and not found something interesting or even uttered Uh, this movie, Yet I have not watched all her movies and doubt I will. The world is full of too many artists that I want to enjoy, yet I've watched quite a few of Blanchett's movies! Well, this movie is not Blanchett's movie, now it is composed of an incredible group of actors, some more well known than others. Cate Blanchett as Tracy Louise Heart Hugo Weaving as Lionel Dawson Sam Neill as Brad 'The Jockey' Thompson Martin Henderson as Ray Heart Noni Hazlehurst as Janelle Heart Dustin Nguyen as Jonny Nguyen Joel Tobeck as Steven Moss Lisa McCune as Laura Susie Porter as Jenny Moss Anh Do as Tran Daniela Farinacci as Donna Frannie Cutrupi as the Local Girl Nina Liu as Mai Jon Sivewright as Footy Fan Wow, I was a fan of each one of these actors while enjoying their roles so much in this film. ​Sure, sure, the directing, editing, music, sounds and all that is wonderful, but this little movie, in terms of what it made at the box office some say its not a success. I disagree and Little Fish is by far one of the best movies I have watched. A modern powerhouse. The actors elevated this film to such a degree that words do not do it justice. Just watch this film-raw and authentic! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/13/25 Full Review Gareth v A powerful, heartbreaking portrait of struggle, survival and addiction. Little Fish is a quiet triumph of storytelling—emotionally rich and authentically Australian. Blanchett, Weaving & Neill deliver some of their best performances of their careers. One of 2005's best movies. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/24/25 Full Review Ronald H Unlikeable characters, poor exposition so we don't know what's going on half the time. Quite uninteresting, to the point where I turned it off. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/29/25 Full Review kristopher h Incredibly boring, hard to keep up with cause it’s so slow and poorly descriptive.. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 12/02/24 Full Review Alain E The best part of this movie is its visual appeal. Excellent cinematography almost expressionistic in character. Colors, angles, illumination make it a visual treat. The story itself plods along. If you expect resolution or a message, look elsewhere. In a way it is analogous to the book Junky of William Burroughs as drug use defines most of these characters. Cate Blanchett is superb, but the rest of the cast is also very good. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review ANITA C I was disappointed as. love Kate Blanchard. She doesn't disappoint in this movie but the Director/producer does. Terrible filming, angles and of course awful characters and the cussing is what you would expect but not good for Sunday watching. I really don't care about these people and that might be the director's intention, but there has to be a reason to continue watching. Perhaps if you are addicted you might want to see what this film has to offer. I think it's a downhill road. Very depressing and I'm sorry I purchased it. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Little Fish

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Movie Info

Synopsis Four years clean, video store manager Tracy (Cate Blanchett) lives quietly, avoiding anything that might trigger a heroin relapse. Her ex-boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen) returns, claiming he is now a drug-free banker, and the two begin seeing each other again. Tracy looks after Lionel (Hugo Weaving), the man who introduced her to the drug. But, Lionel is thrown into a panic when his dealer, Brad (Sam Neill), suddenly retires. Lionel begs Tracy to help him score, testing her shaky sobriety.
Director
Rowan Woods
Producer
Vincent Sheehan, Liz Watts, Richard Keddie
Screenwriter
Jacqueline Perske
Production Co
Myriad Pictures, New South Wales Film & Television Office
Rating
R (Drug Content|Brief Sexuality|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Feb 24, 2006
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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