Fishbowl

A seemingly very religious man with three daughters, living in a small christian village struggles with life after his wife's death and the repossession of his house by the bank. The community hates him for his past, his church wants him gone. His youngest daughter struggles with mean remarks at school. His daughters are obviously less religious than he is, and cope with their mom's death in other ways. After vivid ominous dreams, he turns to scripture in desperation, seeking redemption and forgiveness in every way possible, eventually falling into the hands of a TV-preacher that foretells the end of the world but actually scams him out of his last money with a box of flyers, buttons and a VHS-tape full of empty words. His daughters have no other option then to follow in his last desperate attempt to reunite them with his wife, their mother.

As the movie progresses, it becomes clear why nobody likes him anymore. Little hints are given and the dreadful event that took the life of his wife, who seemed to be loved and liked by everyone. Even though the movie is fictional, the problems that the man has are the problems of many. Too many... and in this case, the worst possible happens and there is no turning back nor apologizing. In the end, you also realize that he will not nor ever can change.

Top notch drama, very well told, very well filmed and very recognizable theme.

Kicked the can and triggered memories of my own catholic school daze in a rush and a flush. Back in the days when the only play at recess was: go out long. I remember loving the girl's uniforms; especially the ones for gym class. The way I'd always feel hormonally pensive during morning mass. How Jesus' wounds looked so feminine up there on that splintery cross. The stained glass for a stained class scarlet-lettered by original sin. So glad I deprogrammed myself soon after graduation. I digress.

Considering that the majority of this film's cast was in fact composed mostly of newcomers, I think they pulled it off. No, it's not as glossy or lachrymose as the Virgin Suicides, or as cracked out wacky as Take Shelter, two I'd compare it to, if only on a thematic and atmospheric level. Yes, there are a handful of half-daft moments (mostly offered up by the ancillary and tertiary characters, overuse of trans-fat yellow hues and some very poor framing) but these are overshadowed by solid, emotive performances by the father and three sisters. Belle, in particular, is incandescent and has the kind of on screen presence that makes you take pause. Hell's Belle in that Devil's costume would make even Dante blush. She's her own inferno. Dug the way the family's dull home is sort of the objective correlative of a Christian psalm about the meek inheriting the Earth. Deeply dug the rapture imagery, the father's hypocritical self-deceit manifested in recurring battles with bottles, the dueling themes of escape, and the well-timed/executed tragic flashback scenes, too. The televangelist Peltz was spot on realistic with the old compensate for my lack of sincerity with avarice-fueled charisma. He had the swagger of a young Jimmy Swaggart. I also loved the haunting soundtrack/score. The spectral vocals reminded me a little bit of the creepy nuns singing some of the darker hymns from back in the day (Under the Weight of the Wood comes to mind). The at times dirge-like music complimented the languid pacing of the film, not unlike the watery church wine used to do for that dry paper wafer during communion. Amen!

It's a really engaging drama about a family falling apart because of the mother's death. 3 girls who attend a Catholic school have to deal with their father's depressed mental state, worsened by his growing religious obsession with a televangelist cult which he joins as a last ditch attempt at fixing things. The feeling of everything falling apart is prevailing throughout the entire movie. I didn't quite get the ending, it was all built on implications, but it was clear enough to make assumptions. I felt engaged in what's happening to the characters and felt their emotions. It's a nice, if only pretty depressing, movie.

I found Fishbowl super interesting. There's a lot to discuss about the themes and presentation.

The story follows three sisters, Belle, Rachel and Jessa, as they struggle to cope with recent trauma in a small town. Meanwhile, their father grows more paranoid over the end of the world.

It's important to mention that this film is heavily about religion. What sparks the father's paranoia is a televangelist claiming he can save people from Judgment Day. As a result, the father becomes obsessive and borderline abusive. I really like how this film comments on religious figures taking advantage of those who are struggling. It's a topic I don't see discussed that often, and I think it's well handled here. Because on the one hand, you feel bad for their father, Rick, as he's dealing with trauma just like his daughters. However as the film goes on, he begins to spiral out of control, and becomes more and more unlikeable. Despite that, you understand his downward spiral isn't entirely his fault. It's an intriguing character arc, and a great way of showing how religion changes people. Humans are fragile and flawed and need direction, but which way should they go?

I also really like the acting in this film. The daughters give incredibly emotional and compelling performances, but I want to give special mention to Caroline Coleman, aka Jessa. She has no lines of dialogue, but her acting is really emotional and I really felt her pain. This is her first film and I sense a great future ahead.

However, while I think this aspect of the film is handled well, there are many scenes that don't really seem to have a purpose other than to make you uncomfortable. I don't inherently have a problem with a movie trying to make me feel uncomfortable, if there is a reason for it. But, I couldn't really figure out what the reasons were for those scenes. So take this as a warning that some scenes might be upsetting.

The presentation of this film is pretty great. I like the dull, somber tone of the movie, and the lack of music. This movie also utilizes a lot of flashbacks as a way to get a better understanding of the sisters' mother. I like how the events that led to this story aren't entirely clear, and they let you figure out what's happening through context clues and parallels. I think it makes the character arcs, along with the ending, much more impactful.

I rate Fishbowl 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 to 18, as this film can be quite dark. It is available now on Amazon and other VOD platforms, so look for it. Reviewed by Calista B., KIDS FIRST

The film felt a lot longer than its 90 minute runtime, and not in a good way. The acting was ok by most of the cast, there were a couple of pretty terrible performances though, but the problem for me was that in this drama none of the characters felt like real people, and I put that down not to the acting but to the writing and directing. I suggest you watch the trailer, and if you do watch it you'll see lots of shots that look like they could be straight out of a commercial for a clothing brand or something with people being filmed in slow motion while posing, this is what a lot of the film is like and it didn't work for me at all. There's almost a surreal dreamlike feel to the look of the film that detracts from the story it's trying to tell, and at the end of the day the story they're telling is a very simple one, but when none of the characters or the situations they're in feel real it makes it very hard to care about anything that's happening to them.

I would not recommend this film as one worth watching and I would not watch another film directed by this directing duo.