Drama

Ratcatcher

James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.

Release Date : 1999-11-12

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : PathéBBC FilmArts Council of EnglandLes Productions LazennecStudioCanalHoly Cow Films

Production Country : FranceUnited Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : James Gillespie

Original Name : William Eadie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Da

Original Name : Tommy Flanagan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ma

Original Name : Mandy Matthews

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ellen

Original Name : Michelle Stewart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anne Marie

Original Name : Lynne Ramsay Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Margaret Anne

Original Name : Leanne Mullen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Quinn

Original Name : Jackie Quinn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Quinn

Original Name : James Ramsay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Fowler

Original Name : Anne McLean

Gender : Male

Character Name : Matt Monroe

Original Name : Craig Bonar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Billy

Original Name : Andrew McKenna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stef

Original Name : Mick Maharg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hammy

Original Name : James Montgomery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ryan

Original Name : Thomas McTaggart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tommy

Original Name : Stuart Gordon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mackie

Original Name : Stephen Sloan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss McDonald

Original Name : Molly Innes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Mohan

Original Name : Stephen King

Gender : Male

Character Name : Insurance Man

Original Name : John Comerford

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rita

Original Name : Ann Marie Lafferty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elderly Lady

Original Name : Bessie McDonald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kitten Girl

Original Name : Leanne Jenkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Scavenger

Original Name : Dougie Jones

Gender : Male

Character Name : Scavenger

Original Name : Joe McCrone

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bus Driver

Original Name : James Watson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy on Bike

Original Name : Stephen Purdon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jesse

Original Name : Marion Connell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy

Original Name : Robert Farrell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Artie

Original Name : Donnie McMillan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anne Marie's Friend

Original Name : Lisa Taylor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gordon (uncredited)

Original Name : Rory McCann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy in Street (uncredited)

Original Name : Chris McElhill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kenny

Original Name : John Miller

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-04-13

It was quite odd watching this because I was just a little younger than the character of "James" (William Eadie) living in Glasgow in the 1970s. I remember the nine-week long dustmen strike that left tons of rubbish piled up all over the place. We lived in a mouse-infested one bed flat similar to the ones in the tenement buildings featured here, and that canal - well it was an overgrown, disease-ridden, deathtrap that had long been abandoned to nature. Back then, there was still ample waste ground - bomb damaged and cleared after the war, for us kids to play on, and that's what we did. Nobody had a car or a phone - or, for that matter, a washing machine, so when he goes out to play no wonder he was meant to tuck his trouser legs into his wellies! Mind you, I'd have thought the canal way too cold for him and his mate "Ryan" (Thomas McTaggart) to be be mucking around in, but that is what they are doing when tragedy strikes. It's this that forms the bedrock for this engagingly observational story of him and his life with his drunk of a father (Tommy Flanagan); caring, but no-nonsense mother (Mandy Matthews) and young sister. The photography powerfully depicts the squalor in which they live, ever hopeful that the folks from the council are going to come and offer them a new home on the city's outskirts where "James" dreams of having a real plumbed bath and a field of corn to play in. He also befriends "Margaret Anne" (Leanne Mullen), a slightly older girl who spends much of her time giving his mates their first semi-sexual experiences in her flat or in the cludgie. Alone else remember the "nit comb"? That actually proves to be the most unlikely of romantic conduits as the two use that and a hefty dose of eye-watering carbolic soap to discover a bond, a companionship, and some genuine moments of affection. Eadie is great here, he delivers in a most natural of styles and aided by Flanagan as his permanently sozzled but never violent father, by Matthews and by the remarkably engaging effort from his "retarded" neighbour "Kenny" (John Miller), presents us with a sense of a family and a community that certainly speaks most of the time in swear words, but still has standards of decency and a strong sense of looking out for each other. We were never a community that showed affection in any sentimental sense and with virtually no technology to rely on, we made our own entertainment - however grubby and dangerous it might look nowadays. Lynne Ramsay portrays that gritty urban living potently and plausibly here whilst remembering that this city is also populated by some of the most entertainingly sarcastic people on Earth. The "schemes" of Glasgow were nowhere to to live in 1973, but everyone was in the same boat - and that is really effectively demonstrated in this poignant search for hope, freedom and some hot water.