Criterion Collection (series)

Ratcatcher

DVD Features:

Additional Release Material:

• Bonus Films (Shorts by Lynne Ramsay) - 1. GASMAN
                                                           2. KILL THE DAY
                                                           3. SMALL DEATHS
• Interview - 1. Lynne Ramsay - Director

Text Galleries:

• Photo Gallery - 1. Stills

Product Description:

Lynne Ramsey's bleak, beautifully photographed debut unflinchingly portrays life in a Glasgow housing project during the 1973 garbageworkers strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James Gillespie (William Eadie, in a soulful debut). As the film opens, James is playing with a friend near a filthy canal behind the projects when his friend tragically falls into the water and drowns. James chooses not to tell anyone that he saw the boy die, knowing that he will be implicated. This secret, along with his increasing lack of communication with his drunken football-loving father, causes James to become increasingly withdrawn, fantasizing about his family moving to a newly constructed apartment complex at the city limits on the edge of a beautiful, golden field of grain. As the garbage piles up and rats take up residency around the complex as if they were new tenants, James finds temporary solace in his friendships with Kenny, an odd boy who loves animals, and Margaret Anne, a teenage misfit who lets the local boys use her body as they wish.

While undeniably grim, RATCATCHER manages to combine unusually rich imagery and spare use of dialogue to create a realistic portrait of a simultaneously beautiful and cruel world. Punctuated with unexpected humor, Ramsey's film is subtle and rewarding.

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Family (General) | Theatrical Release | Tragedy

Production Notes:

• RATCATCHER was filmed over 8 weeks during the summer of 1998.
• Lynne Ramsay won the Cannes Jury Prize for her two shorts: SMALL DEATHS and GASMAN.
• Ramsay cast the children in their roles after considering 1500 children from schools around Glasgow.
• The role of Anne Marie Gillespie was played by Ramsay's niece, Lynne Ramsay Jr.
• The canal seen in the film was the only set that was constructed.
• Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times named RATCATCHER one of the 10 best movies of 2000.
• Take Two: The Second Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll awarded director Ramsay's film Best First Feature. The Voice also listed RATCATCHER in its Overall Top 10 films of 2000.

Cast and Crew: