Log in Sign up

Ratcatcher

1999 · TMDB 7.1

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

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.

Why it matters

Lynne Ramsay's debut follows James, a boy in 1970s Glasgow, as he deals with guilt and grief after a tragic accident. The film's tactile imagery and elliptical storytelling evoke childhood's fragmented perceptions without ever turning sentimental.

From Growing Up Is No Picnic

Chains through this film

Where this title sits in a journey — and where cinema takes you next.

Browse all chains

Where this film leads

Linked through chains, directors and neighbouring cinema.

Key contributors

Explore by topic