Lynne Ramsay-Ratcatcher (1999)

In her breathtaking and assured debut feature, Lynne Ramsay creates a haunting evocation of a troubled Glasgow childhood. Set during Scotland’s national garbage strike of the mid-1970s, Ratcatcher explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him. Utilizing beautiful, elusive imagery, candid performances, and unexpected humor, Ratcatcher deftly contrasts urban decay with a rich interior landscape of hope and perseverance, resulting in a work at once raw and deeply poetic. criterion.com




Glasgow, summer, 1973. Dustmen are striking; bags of garbage add to the blight of council flats and a fetid canal. Ryan, who's about 12, drowns during a play fight with his neighbor, the jug-eared James. James runs home, a flat where he lives with his often-drunk da, his ma, and sisters, who live in hope of moving to newly-built council flats. The slice-of-life, coming-of-age story follows James as he tags along with the older lads; has a friendship with his quirky wee rodent-loving neighbor, Kenny; spends time with Margaret Anne, myopic, slightly older, the local sexual punching bag; and, has a moment or two of joy. The strike may end, but is there any way out for James? (http://imdb.com/title/tt0171685/plotsummary)




There are no cheap epiphanies in this interior, melancholy portrait of a boy growing up in a Glasgow housing project. The director Lynne Ramsay discovered William Eadie, an untrained actor, and she evokes a complete emotional consciousness from his open, enigmatic face. Her camera hews so closely to his world view that you become fully immersed in his sadness. The inexplicable tragedy that opens the film remains just that, and this lack of closure resonates long after the end credits. (-Michael Agger - The New Yorker)




Brutality and hope intertwine in this quiet coming-of-age story. Set in a Glasgow, Scotland, slum during a 1973 trash collectors' strike, the film follows young James, shaken after accidentally causing the death of a friend, who dreams of moving into newly built council flats. The loosely plotted slice-of-life piece moves between James's family and his friendship with Kenny, a slightly off animal fancier, and the older Margaret Anne. Though the setting is grim, the movie is far from bleak. Even as the trash bags pile up, James takes comfort in something as simple as being combed for head lice. The cast is excellent, and writer-director Lynne Ramsay coaxes astonishingly good performances out of her child actors. Complex and haunting, Ratcatcher holds a silent wish at its center. The DVD includes an interview with Ramsay, and three of her short films. (–Ali Davis - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)




The idea of innocence mired in poverty is the theme of Ratcatcher, one of the most amazing debut films. This is a wholly original work, complete with poetic visuals and haunting atmosphere. With this one film, Lynne Ramsay has given the images that they capture the dream-like innocence of childhood like no other film. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0171685/usercomments)




The film could definitely be categorized as a coming-of-age picture, but that would be cheating it. Like many great films, Ratcatcher redefines its genre. The path of discovery for James is harrowing and painful, but like anyone's experience – unique. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0171685/usercomments)




It's full of worrisome situations and a complicated storyline that sticks with you for days. It has qualities of both compression and mystery, much like well-crafted poetry has compared to prose. It's well-crafted, well-written, beautifully shot, and worth watching and thinking about. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0171685/usercomments)















Promising short feature, made by Lynne Ramsay as her graduation movie from film school. It covers 3 events in a girl's life. The first shows her as a very young girl watching her father get ready to go out for a night. In the second segment she's a teenager who witnesses a nasty incidence involving a cow. While in the third she's a young adult who goes to a creepy building with her boyfriend. He goes upstairs, leaving her to fidget nervously below. But then he calls to her … Dark, intimate snippets of everyday life, lovingly captured. An impressive debut by the director of Ratcatcher. This immediately establishes the mood, focus and ambition of her later work. It won a prize at Cannes. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0232660/)

The plot is very simple, but the story is told in such an unexpected and refreshing manner you just can't wait to see what happens next. Brilliant editing and unexplained scene changes which only become clear later. Particularly charming is the filmmaker's approach to working with children. Only completely innocent and natural shots are used. A scene here where a group of boys are running about in underwear and eventually skinny-dipping seems more like home movies than a deliberate scene in a film. Ramsay is definitely a director to keep an eye on and it's quite nice to be able to collect her work right from the beginning, including these early shorts. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0351176/)





Lynne Ramsay's 3rd short film, «Gasman» (1997) was published two times in Avax-pages, first on Aug 7, 2006 13:20 and then re-uploaded on 25 Oct 2006 08:43
http://avaxhome.ws/misc/gasman2_by_lynne.html



A single mother drops off her daughter and son with their father so that he can take them and his other child to a Christmas party. Both the adults are struggling to make ends meet in the depressed region in Scotland and the father finds things hard going trying to keep the kids happy with very little cash in his pocket. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0122498/ )