‘Ratcatcher’: the film Gary Oldman called a “masterful piece of filmmaking”
Ranging from Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy to the feature-length adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Gary Oldman has starred in his fair share of classic Hollywood titles. Never one to be typecast, Oldman has appeared in a variety of roles in his time, from villains to revered historical characters. Naturally, this propensity to surprise has established an oeuvre brimming with cinematic highlights.
However, it has not always been plain sailing. The early 2000s saw Oldman experience a career-low, with the actor committing to barrel-scraping roles. In 2003, things sunk to a whole new level entirely when he appeared in the widely panned thriller Sin alongside Ving Rhames. Shortly after, Oldman followed it up with the comedy-drama Tiptoes, a project in which he questionably played a character with dwarfism.
Miraculously, Oldman saved his career from the jaws of failure, and such missteps remain a distant memory for the actor and his fans. Not long after the duds, his appearances in the Harry Potter and Dark Knight series helped consign his past failures to the dustbin of history, with the actor continuing on an upward trajectory from thereon in.
While undoubtedly holding the reputation as a respected performer, Oldman has positioned himself as an aficionado of cinema. A lover of the works of great auteurs such as Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick and Wong Kar-wai, Oldman has a penchant for the finer aspects of film. Duly, there’s a strong feeling that this has underpinned his dramatic aptitude.
When listing his five favourite films for Rotten Tomatoes, Oldman demonstrated the extent of his love for cinema by naming Ratcatcher, the 1999 debut by Lynne Ramsay. Notably, the drama was a success upon release, winning numerous BAFTAs as a result.
Set in Glasgow in 1973, Ratcatcher is placed amongst the housing schemes that enclose some of the poorest living conditions in western Europe. There’s no hot running water, bathing facilities, or indoor toilets. Compounding matters, a strike of the binmen rages in the background, which has created a health hazard and a breeding ground for rats. However, the situation is slowly changing. The city is undergoing a transformative re-development program, where the schemes are being demolished and the residents rehoused in modern abodes.
The film’s main character, James, is a sensitive 12-year-old boy who lives in one of the schemes that is gradually emptying as the tenants are rehoused. James and the rest of the family, his two sisters, mother and alcoholic father, sit tight, waiting to be moved on. All the while, James attempts to come to terms with guilt and the insensitive environment around him.
Of the film, Oldman said: “Switching from that to a small indie movie, a Lynne Ramsay movie called Ratcatcher — I just think it’s a masterful piece of filmmaking. I mean, there’s Taxi Driver, there’s Raging Bull… there’s even — I love King of Comedy. Then there’s Kubrick; the list goes on and on. So there’s many, many, many — but off the top of my head, that would be five.”
