The things they say...Fish Tank

http://www.flickpickmonster.com/2010/02/fish-tank.html

Fassbender, as Nick's Flick Picks said, gives a very good performance, one of those that's subtle. You realize, though, that the movie would not be as good without him.

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/fish-tank-paints-a-dark-honest-picture-of-teen-angst-1.2142991

Connor (Michael Fassbender), a charming Irishman, moves in with the Williams clan as Joanne’s new boyfriend.

http://jcolon7289.blogspot.com/2010/02/trailer-watch-fish-tank.html

Also, the cast has Michael Fassbender (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors after his recent performances in Hunger and Inglourious Basterds).

http://movies.sophonax.net/?p=108

Where the hell did Michael Fassbender come from? Within two years, the man has amassed a filmography full of one brilliant turn after another, from the martyr with psychotic intensity in “Hunger” to the undercover saboteur dripping movie star charm in “Inglourious Basterds”. Fassbender’s complex performance is the best of many good reasons to see Andrea Arnold’s “Fish Tank” - as a father figure of sorts for the mixed-up young teenage protagonist, Fassbender sketches out a warm and friendly character that has unpleasant secrets and sexual tensions simmering beneath his facade.

http://venuszine.com/articles/art_and_culture/film/6575/Teenage_Wasteland

When her mother brings home the attractive, playful Connor (Michael Fassbender), things get complicated. Mia lets him assume a fatherly role as she simultaneously develops a crush on him — and his ever-shifting responses add a layer of tension to the story.

Fassbender really shines as Connor, a role that comes on the heels of an amazing performance in 2009's Hunger. With quiet control, he plays this character just right, one-upping Peter Saarsgard's turn as David in last year's An Education as a man who may or may not be hiding dubious motives.

Then her mother brings home a new man - Michael Fassbender, looking gorgeous, looking like a cross between Matthew McConaghey during the week or so he was a star and a downscale Heath Ledger...

Mia is too feisty, the actress playing her is riveting, Fassbender comes off as a budding star (as he has in the other films I've seen him in)

Arnold presents an unapologetic vision of female desire in the film. Her characters ogle Fassbender, and so does the camera...

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/screen/Fish-Tank.html

Then we meet Mom’s new boyfriend Connor. A shifty, charming lout played with a quiet strain of delicacy by the fantastic Michael Fassbender, he’s the first person to show Mia any affection, or even any respect for that matter. He might as well be from another planet, taking these three ladies out for a drive to the seaside. Connor catches a fish while Mia stares in wonder, as if seeing a universe beyond those dreary walls for the very first time.

Fassbender, who delivered two completely unrecognizable turns last year—first as starving Irish martyr Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger , then the dashing film-critic-turned-spy in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds —is proving to be quite the minimalistic chameleon. Connor should by all rights come off as reptilian, but Fassbender plays him more confused than conniving. He’s the most helpless sexual predator I’ve ever seen in a movie.

http://gattoreels.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/fish-tank/

Additionally, the emotionally satisfying narrative that easily transitions to this partial thriller, fails to come alive without the subtle but complex performance from Michael Fassbender. You want to love him, but you know your going to hate him.

http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2014

The supporting cast is equally effective, including Michael Fassbender, who has the biggest "name" among the actors.

http://thescorecardreview.com/review/film-reviews/2010/02/11/fish-tank/8243

Michael Fassbender as Conner: Conner is sexy and repulsive all wrapped into one confusing package, and Fassbender is an ideal choice. The first time you see him, he’s standing in a doorway, shirtless and leering. You can’t place him as either the good guy or the bad guy–he’s selfish and he’s realistic. We can’t even attach any comforting movie platitudes to him: he doesn’t learn his lesson, he doesn’t have a heart of gold, and he isn’t better for having made those mistakes. It’s easy to forget that Fassbender is an entirely separate human being from Conner, he’s that good.

http://confessions123.blogspot.com/2010/02/portland-international-film-festival_11.html

Fassbender is also very good, charming the audience into hoping he's not too good to be true.

http://bpdreview.blogspot.com/2010/02/fish-tank.html

The great Michael Fassbender, who gives one of the most awe-inspiring performances of recent years in 2008's Hunger, plays Connor with charisma and charm. It could have been all to easy for Fassbender to emphasize his character's eventual villainy from the start, but he plays it straight, trusting the audience to deal with the conflicting emotions which result from our falling for Connor only to be betrayed, exactly like Mia.

http://www.edgenewyork.com/?100613
Played effortlessly by the sexy and warm Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), Connor is a fascinating character. Seemingly the only person who treats Mia with respect, Mia becomes attached. Maybe a bit too attached, and so does he. We want to love him throughout, but he too proves to not be the bastion of stability he attempts to portray.

http://thesicknesscinema.blogspot.com/2010/02/tanked.html

I went into Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank aware of only two things, one that the film contains some very difficult to watch moments and that it contains wonderful performances from Michael Fassbender and Katie Jarvis.

Equally adept is Fassbender as Connor who is 180 degrees away from his David Niven-esque soldier in Inglourious Basterds. His Connor is a man with great charm and charisma but it quickly becomes clear he's hiding something.

http://www.34st.com/content/2010/feb/go-fish

Fassbender is undeniably charming as Connor, and Kierston Wareing is pitch perfect as Mia’s boozy, selfish mother.

http://thereacharound.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/got-to-catch-them-flicks/

The two leads in “Fish Tank” Michael Fassbender and newcomer Katie Jarvis kill it. Their relationship is frighteningly realistic, and although the audience’s relationship to both of them changes during the film, at no time does the story feel force fed.

http://justanotherego.blogspot.com/2010/02/language.html

And then Joanne brings home her new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender - be still my beating heart) and everything changes.

Connor is the perfect predator, knowing exactly how to cultivate the attraction (not that it would be hard when you're Michael freaking Fassbender) without scaring anyone or giving anything away.

And Fassbender, as the only male influence on these women, proves not to be a particularly good one, playing the creepy older man and the overwhelmingly attractive heartthrob simultaneously with perfection. I won't talk about the fact that he does a lot of it only half dressed, because that would indeed be crass.

http://vicksflicks.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/fish-tank/

Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Inglourious Basterds) also does a fine job playing Connor. Whatever interesting parts the film has, it was because of Jarvis and Fassbender’s performances.

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/short-takes-the-parent-trap/Content?oid=1841562

The film's slow pace, however, is frustrating. While Arnold (Red Road) obviously intends for Fish Tank to be a slice-of-life look at reality, its two-hour running time often feels laborious, despite fine performances by Jarvis and Fassbender, who was so terrific as Bobby Sands in last year's Hunger.

http://amovingblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/generations-repeat.html

Above all, Michael Fassbender presents a mesmerising portrait of the conflicted emotions in Mia's mother's too-good-to-be-real boyfriend. With further juicy roles like this, the German-born Ireland-raised London-based actor (triumphant in Hunger and professionally understated in Inglourious Basterds) could become an international star a la Day-Lewis and Depardieu.

http://paulinasmovies.blogspot.com/2010/02/fish-tank.html

The story begins to unfold as Mia develops a bond with her mom's latest conquest, the attractive, easy-going, sexy Connor, excellently portrayed by Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Inglourious Basterds).

http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2010/02/movie-review-fish-tank.html

Michael Fassbender has quickly become one of my favorite actors (this is the fourth time I’ve seen him this year after Hunger, Eden Lake and Inglorious Basterds), and this is probably his best performance to date. Outwardly friendly, there is something about his eyes we do not entirely trust. In the scene where he finally does cross a line, he plays masterfully. In a just world, both of these actors would get Oscar nominations this year.

http://jephtharoad.blogspot.com/2010/02/lets-go-to-movies.html

Fish Tank is better than the usual type of British film with the superb Michael Fassbender and the newcomer young girl both outstanding

http://thereeldealiansblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/movie-review-fish-tank.html

I was also thoroughly impressed by Michael Fassbender. Fassbender wowed me in his brief performance in "Inglourious Basterds" and in "Fish Tank" he brings that same tough yet relaxed geniality to make Connor a character who is hard to hate. Fassbender is blossoming into something of a great actor, and I'm expecting much from him in the years to come.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2010/02/19/f-fish-tank-review.html

Fassbender is so subtle throughout, it’s almost impossible to make a definitive judgment about Connor. (With this role and his work in Hunger and Inglourious Basterds, he’s a star in the making.)