Ratcatcher

(Paperback, Main)

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Ratcatcher was the brilliant feature-film debut of the young Scotswoman Lynne Ramsay, one of the finest new talents in world cinema. It is the summer of 1973, and 12-year-old James Gillespie lives with his family on a Glasgow estate, which looks increasingly wretched as a dustmen's strike wears on. One day, James inadvertently causes a pal of his to drown in the local canal, and he flees the scene, apparently unseen. He strikes up a touching intimacy with an older girl whom the other estate lads use for sex; and he dreams of leaving the estate for one of the big, clean new houses being built a few miles out of town. But finally James cannot escape his circumstances any more than he can forget about his pal's untimely death.

Reviews

"Told with exceptional skill and feeling, Ratcatcher is deservedly rising far above the pack . . . an insightful, beautifully made film." --Rich Cline, "Cinezine"
"Ramsay has found a confident style; she's not just a promising fist-time director, but a fully-fledged visionary from the start." --Jonathan Romney
"A film of a unique kind." --Andrew O'Hagan, "Daily Telegraph"
"Magnificent. The best debut by a British director in 15 years." --Michel Ciment