Jellyfish

I saw this at the Edinburgh film festival. The first film for this director, and I expected not to like it as the subject matter is not what I would normally see at the cinema, I was really surprised at how good it was. The story of a 15 year old girl struggling to keep her family going and the toll it took upon her personally. The acting was excellent, and the direction and editing mature and very well executed. There were a couple of scenes which really made me wince, but nothing was gratuitous and they served to emphasise the points they were making-the loss of control for someone who is still a child but forced to try and make her way in an adult world with no support. The supporting characters were well realised and added to the film as a whole.

Go and see it. It's not an 'easy ride' but well worth persevering with. The ending, which I will not spoil, is to some extent what the viewer makes of it. See it to see what I mean!

A director and an actress to watch out for. A small film of one life that, because it could be so many of our lives, grows into a huge film. The Margate Tourist Office can't have enjoyed this film - despite being beautifully photographed, it's hardly an advert for the town. A quietly sensational film without ever being a sensationalist one. It will stay with me for a while.

The acting here is consistently good, with two excellent central performances: LIV HILL in the lead as a fifteen year old forced to grow up early and parent her younger siblings as well as her utterly incapable mother - who's superbly portayed in all her highs, lows and broken chaos by SINEAD MATTHEWS. Both are outstanding.

Such a powerful film with great performances by all involved and an absolute stand out performance by Liv Hill who surely must be rewarded with some sort of award.Not easy to watch in places but this film will stay in your memory for a long long time

There were a few times while watching Jellyfish that I thought I would have to turn it off. While my own childhood experience was not as extreme as the ones seen in this film, it was close enough to make watching it quite difficult. At the same time it was so good in its performances and the intensity of emotion that I was practically compelled to keep watching. I kept thinking, the ending of this film better be damn good as that will be what makes watching it ultimately worthwhile. In this context I found the ending to be a disappointment though not inappropriate. The story of the eldest daughter of a mentally ill/narcissistic drug addict mother, and how the daughter works so hard to keep the family, including much younger twin siblings, intact and the toll this takes on her. At the same time her emotional struggles lead her to write comedy, so there is something of a silver lining. I would recommend viewing it if you desire an emotionally intense movie-watching experience which includes some nice shots of one of England's quaint seaside towns.