Fish Tank is known as a social realism film, or a 'kitchen sink' drama because a lot of it is based around the natural living area of the characters. Social realism films like this aim to portray ordinary everyday lives of people and everyday situations but with a twist to make it more interesting to the niche target audience. It's set in an urban environment, using high rise tower blocks and a run down estate as the backdrop to the characters' stories. The use of this setting is typical of the social realism genre because it aims to identify with 'ordinary' people, and can be compared with the likes of older social realism films such as 'Saturday night and Sunday morning' which is set in a run down terraced housing area.
The opening scene begins with the sound of breathing until the camera focuses on Mia, the main character, making it clear the sound is coming from her. This diegetic noise is frequent throughout the film which is
