There are moments in Lynne Ramsey's "Ratcatcher" that are powerful and affecting--the opening death/murder scene, the moments that follow; James' trip to his future house, his exhuberant play in the field behind. The actors, especially the kids, are convincing, offer very sophisticated, if one dimensional, performances. Ramsey is talented at creating interesting, compelling images--the opening shot; the mouse tied to the balloon and his/her flight into space and crawling on the moon; James trip to his new house. She has a real talent for suggesting activity without showing it--witness the scenes where the boys terrorize Margaret Anne. We never actually see what they do to her, which makes the scenes much more compelling and disturbing. It's almost as if she's telling us that what they are doing to her is too ugly for our eyes. Her use of "off-screen" space is remarkable. Her cutting is interesting. The opening death/murder scene is cut so abruptly with significant gaps of time missing that it properly mimics the way in which the human mind absorbs and experiences traumatic moments. She captures the confusion and shock and horror of the moment. So, there is a lot of promise in Ramsey as a filmmaker, yet, "Ratcatcher" would probably have been better as a 40 minute short than a 90 minute feature. This slight story, which has barely any narrative progression or momentum, is slow, dull, and repetitive. It's running time weakens, does not strengthen, the film's impact. Maybe this is understandable considering that this is Ramsey's first feature length film. I think she's still adjusting to a longer story form. She's still thinking in short film terms. Having said that, I think she has an interesting style that, given stronger scripts, could lead to much more satisfying films.
Review of Ratcatcher
