The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, March 15, 2010 -- 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, March 15, 2010 - 7A A transfixing 'Tank' The case against suing Locker' British drama takes a gritty look at the plight of urban youth By EMILY BOUDREAU Daily Arts Writer "Fish Tank" isn't a movie a lot of people have heard about or would even typically see, but it offers a gritty portrayal of life that should not go unnoticed. Mia (newcomer Kate Jarvis) is a 15-year-old girl who dreams of being a hip- hop dancer, but ** the obstacles of her everyday Fish Tank life - getting kicked out of At the State school, picking IFC fights with other girls and sneak- ing alcohol - stand in the way. Her life has deteriorated and she spends most of her days wandering around the streets, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her eyes. Jarvis delivers a searingly real- istic performance. It's not exactly a touching or emotional one, and it's hard to really like her char- acter, but that's what makes it powerful. Jarvis makes Mia come across as an actual person. Per- haps what makes her character so distant is that it's hard to know what's really going on in her mind or in her world. Yet this is also the aspect that makes her so captivat- ing - part of the film's force lies in making the audience wait to see what her next move will be. Life seems to get a bit brighter for Mia when her Mom's boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender, "Inglou- rious Basterds") enters the picture. He floats through life easily, makes Mia laugh and encourages her dancing, softening the harshness of her life. At the same time, he develops a relationship with Mia that soon causes their lives and the secrets within them to unravel. Fassbender is outstanding in "Fish Tank." He manages to combine aspects of both a father figure and a sexual predator in his character flawlessly and believably. It's difficult to imagine a single person executing such oppo- site aspects in a way that's not overdone. His portrayal of Connor adds just the right amount of menace to the story. The strength of the plot and characters depends a lot on the setting of the film. The world they inhabit is one of shabby, squalid apartment buildings, graffiti and men in beer-stained t-shirts with their stomachs out. Their world is not a traditionally pretty one, but there are moments when the cam- era brings out little details like the way the birds are circling overhead, the way light comes through the car window or the way a balloon makes its way across the skyline. It's in moments like these that Mia's world seems to have the potential for beauty. But just as quickly as these images flit across the screen, that potential is swallowed up. As a girl who aspires to be a hip- hop backup dancer, Mia spends a lot of her time with her head- phones on, listening to her music. The music doesn't act as merely a passive supplement to the film - it adds a valuable layer. In the last scene, Mia, her mother and her little sister are dancing together as a family. After all they have been through, it's hard not to find the scene touching, but then the words of the song come through: "Life's a bitch and then you die." "Fish Tank" doesn't try to have a large, overbearing message; it, instead focuses on creating an authentic story in which nothing is forced. The film shifts beauti- fully and believably between both the light and the dark side of life. Last Sunday was a big night at the Oscars for "The Hurt Locker": Six awards, includ- ing Best Picture, left champions of the Iraq War film with plenty to cheer about. And I'm proud of direc- tor Kathryn- Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, in an I've-never- ANDREW met-them-but- LAPIN they-seem-nice kind of way. Unfortunately, my own enthu- siasm for the movie's victory was tainted by the events of the pre- ceding Wednesday, when real-life bomb disposal technician Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver sued the filmmak- ers for essentially stealing his life. Yeah, I know, Hollywood's hit with lawsuits every day from misguided citizens who think they can wran- gle big bucks out of a half-assed claim that their ideas were stolen. You'd think this one wouldn't be any different. But it is. See, Sarver actually has a fairly legitimate leg to stand on, considering that Boal was embed- ded with his Iraq unit when doing research for the original Playboy Magazine article that inspired the film. That article, by the way, is a full-fledged profile on Sarver him- self, and many key scenes from the sapposedly fictionalized film were lifted directly from real life. Like William James, the charse- ter played by Jeremy Renner in the film, Sarver also kept a box of dis- armed explosives parts under his bed. And like James, Sarver once stripped off his bomb suit when confronted with an unholy amount of death dynamite. Sounds pretty damning so far, right? Except that because he needs a heart-wrenching, sympathetic story, Sarver couldn't stop there. Apparently he also invented the phrases "the hurt locker" and "war is a drug." He was somehow unaware that Boal was nlan- 2010 NISSAN SENTRA S * 3MO LEASE 2010 NN ALTIVA ning to write an article about his N S Aunit. And he's upset that Jeremy Renner looks so much like him, because he believes the producers deliberately set out to cast a Jef- frey Sarver lookalike. It's the kitchen-sink approach COURTESY OF IFC to the legal system. If you com- "ZERO DOWNI?!? ARE YOU SEROUS!??!!?" plain about one thing, complain * */ wMI O ~ LEASE 39 Eono. 2010 NISSAN ROGUE SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OW YLOCAL BEER DISTRIBUTOR paid summer internship. Sales, special For Tuesday, March 16, 2010 drills. Nothing will go as planned. Just events, marketing. Business student, ARIES get used to it. 21, w/ car. Flex. hrs. O & W, Inc. 734- (March 21 to April 19) SCORPIO 480-4012 or email info a onwbeercom This is a restless day for you. Just (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21) 39 NANNY 9AM-5PM, M-F, for 2 school accept this. Don't worry about trying to This is an accident-prone day for chil- MO aged girls in Novi, 6/21/10-end of Au- fix things. because eventually they will dren in your care. This especially applies Mo. gust. Non-smoker only. Must have own fade away on their own - in about two to Scorpio parents. Therefore, be extra LEASE transportation. $8.00 per hour.- days, maybe three. vigilant with your youngsters. ctorossianlgmail.com. TAtURUS SAGITTARIUS about everything. The false claims don't harm the real ones; in fact, they accentuate the narrative that Sarver is tryingto present. This is what happens to anything involving both Hollywood and the American legal system, otherwise known as the two best storytelling organiza- tions in the country. Each side's job is to get you to believe its carefully constructed tale over the other, whatever it takes. Not being a law student, I don't feel qualified to make any state- ments about the actual validity of the case. But what I can judge is the presentation of the arguments. After all, this is good, old-fashioned courtroom drama, and it's tailor- made for the movies, from classics like "Anatomy of a Murder" to 2008's "Flash of Genius." The side that wins is the side that can use the most special effects to distract from any flaws in the story. Just like how "Avatar" won the box office. And the hero of any good story is the one who convinces you he's standing up for the little guy. Take a look at Geoffrey Fieger, the law- yer representing Sarver. He's a Michigan grad and a celebrity trial lawyer, having previously defended Jack Kevorkian and other high-pro- file figures. Fieger's firm is based in Southfield, Mich., and if you grew up watching Detroit-area TV like me, then you saw his commercials all the time. Making a stage of the courtroom. This is a guy who's clearly been studying Hollywood-style storytell- ing all his life, because his ads are shamelessly manipulative. You've got the shots of him deliveringstir- ring speeches to his boardroom and the members of his firm gallantly ascending the courthouse steps on their way to fight for your rights. In 2007, when Fieger was in hot water for alleged illegal campaign contributions to John Edwards, he even exploited Martin Niemller's famous Holocaust quote ("First they came for the Communists...") in a TV spot. Why? Because he needed to construct a narrative that would position himself in a positive light. This is show business, kids. It ain't pretty. As consumers of stories, we always search for the same old good guy vs. bad guy trappings. The movies have indoctrinated usto these kinds of black-and- white conflicts ever since 1915, when D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" preached the heroism of the Ku Klux Klan. The real truth, sadly, is that there are no good or bad guys here. Boal and everyone else responsible for 'The Hurt Locker" most likely lifted details directly from Sarver's life to form a more convincing narra- tive withoutproperly crediting their inspiration. Sarver most likely fabricated large portions of his claims so that he can more convincingly play the role of the cash-strapped downtrodden veteran who's just standing up for justice against the Holly- wood machine. And you better believe lawyers like Fieger are going to lie through their teeth to present the story they want. Here's what I assume is going to happen: Atsome point in the near future when this lawsuit has been forgotten by the gen- eral public, the producers of "The Hurt Locker" will settle with Sarver out of court. Sarver will take his money no matter how small the sum, grateful that he wrangled anything out of those sleazy, soulless Holly- wood types, and then fade into obscurity with a great story for his grandkids. And then life in La La Land will return to nor- mal, at least until the next high- profile lawsuit Because these are the movies, after all, and successful formu- las always repeat themselves. Lapin is suing 'Avatar' because he was in 3-D first. To stop him, e-mail alapin@umich.edu. JOIN DAILY ARTS. E-mail join.arts@umich.edu for information on applying. 2010 NISSAN MAXIMA 39 Ma. LEASE SUMMER CAMP HEALTH Officer Co-ed residential camp seeks Camp Health Officer (will train) to work alongside camp Dr's-great experi- ence for pre-med/ nursing students. Ap- ply online at www.campwaldenmi.com. THE 2010 CANCER RESEARCH SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM As part of its Cancer Biology Training Program, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, in part with funding from the National Insti- tutes of Health (NIH) is providing expo- sure to cancer research for highly moti- vated and talented college tndergradu- ates. This program will provide the suc- cessful applicants on opportunity tt ex- plore potential careers in the field of cancer research. In keeping with the terms of the NIH grant, we especially encourage applications from individu- als from populations that are currently underrepresented in biomedical and be- havioral research. The program is aimed at students who are completitg their sophomore or junior undergradu- ate year this spring. Thu progratm will rutt far ten weeks, June 7th August 13th, 40 ts/ week. Students selected who do not currently have U-M mentors will be matched with an appropriate U-M faculty. Only U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens are eligible to apply. Interts will be paid $4,500 for the 10 week period. Your application must be uploaded by March 31 at the followitg site: www.mcancer.org/carsip (Questions? Contact Cur Nosel at cnoseltyftnmich.edu WORK ON MACKINAC Island, this summer - Make lifelong friends. The Island House Hotel and Ryba's Fudge Shops are looking for seasonal help in all areas: Front Desk, Bell Stal, Sales Clerks, Baristas, and Kitchen Staff. Housing, bonus, and discounted meals available. Call Ryan 1 (906)847-7196. www.theislandhouse.com (April 20 to May 20) A friend might do something that is bizarre or unorthodox. In any event, oth- ers will surprise you today. Possibly, you will meet someone who is a real charac- ter. (It's not a boring day.) GE MINI (May 21 to June 20) Calculations of bosses, parents, teach- ers and VIPs are unpredictable today. Surprising news from on high might amaze you. Stay tuned. CANCER (June 21to July 22) Unexpected opportunities to travel, as well as unexpected opportunities to explore training or get further education, tight fall in your lap today. Since your window of opportunity will be brief, act quickly! LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) Unexpected gifts and goodies from others might come your way today. Be on the lookout for this. Keep your pock- ets open. You really can benefit from the wealth of others today. VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) Partners and close friends will surprise you in some way today. Perhaps some- one will demand more freedom. You might have to deal with a minor rebel- lion. LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Your workday will be interrupted by canceled appointments, staff shortages, computer crashes, power outages or fire (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21) Something having to do with your home routine will be interrupted today. Unexpected company might drop by. Small appliances could break down. Anything can happen. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) This is an accident-prone day. Therefore, slow down and take it easy. Allow extra time for everything. Think before you act or speak. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18) Keep an eye on your money today, because you might find money or you might lose money. Check your bank account. Protect your possessions against loss or theft. PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20) You feel restless, impulsive and a bit rebellious today. You don't want others telling you what to do. You intend to call the shots. (And no doubt, this is exactly what you'll do.) YOU BORN "TODAY You have won- derful, imaginative ideas, but more than that, you know how to use them! You're a marvelous combination of practicality and whimsy. You like nice things, and you live the good life. You know how to take the best ideas and combine them into something new. Work hard to build or construct something this year. Your rewards will soon follow. Birthdate of: Peaches Geldof, celebrity; Lauren Graham, actress; Jerry Lewis, comedian/actor.