Sweet Sixteen

A typically excellent Ken Loach dramatic testament to the plight of the common man, "Sweet Sixteen" brings the forces of adversity and the futility of naive courage into bold relief with this hopeful examination of one boy's struggle to make a better life for himself and his loser mother. Don't look for a happy ending to this dreary, drab but compelling drama which could easily be labeled a "downer". Recommended only for realists into foreign films. (B+)

Note - This film does have English subtitles making it more user friendly for those who find the thick Scot dialect difficult to understand.

As someone who comes from Greenock originally, my first draw to this movie was curiosity. Having said that, I fell completely for the story of Liam. His character, played by Martin Compston, could be one of many lads that I grew up with. The need to be 'one of the big boys' an all prevalent force in this deprived, former shipbuilding town; even if that need is self destructive. The performances are stellar throughout, only the mother's character is weak. I am unsure if this is deliberate, or bad acting. Perhaps the film could have explored the lack of employment and the sectarian divide more, however it does tackle the drugs issue very well indeed. The other thing that may put people off is the language. There is nothing unusual about the frequency or the strength of it for Grenockians. But it is more usual for a filmmaker to give an essence rather than soak the audience in every single word.

Ken Loach makes films of political power and emotional intensity. If he has a flaw as a film-maker, it is that the overall body of his work is insufficiently varied, and that the same basic narrative (of essentially decent people fighting and ultimately failing to overcome their disadvantages) re-appears in a different setting in each successive film. 'Sweet Sixteen' is, however, one of his better works, in part because he resists the temptation (as sometimes he does not) to place a hero with a heart of gold at it's centre. What we have instead is a horrifyingly believable story of an ordinary kid getting into bigger and bigger trouble. Every detail convinces, and the quality of performances Loach entices from his inexperienced cast is of the highest order: the film is also a sobering reminder of the underside of life in Blair's Britain. Loach has a rare talent: it's on display here, but don't expect any surprises.

It doesn't get any more nakedly gritty than this. This is a movie for

anyone who thinks that kids who grow up to be drug addicts and

drug users have only themselves to blame. What's particularly

disturbing is how the biggest antagonists for Liam, and his friend

Pinball are not people their own age, but rather adults. Some

scenes are very unnerving and hard to watch simply because the

hazing and degradation that the fifteen-year-old characters endure

is at the hands of people who behave like insecure playground

bullies, but are members of a powerful organized crime force.

Even though I'm pretty close to the age of the main character, I can

barely imagine what the nightmarish experiences he endures

must be like.

The movie is emotionally devastating nearly all the way though. It's

moments of levity are welcome, but few. There's points where it

seems as though everything will turn out alright, but then

something else happens that throws everything off-course. For a

relaxing and enjoyable time, this is not a movie to see. But if you're

looking for something that will move you, shock you and really

make you think (and appreciate your own situation) than Sweet

Sixteen is the one too see.

10/10

The kind of film I usually intend to see but don't end up seeing. In this case I did see it and was handsomely rewarded. I expected it to be a little on the depressing side but found it strangely uplifting. Perhaps because you realise that you don't have it so bad after all. Perhaps because it was extremely tight - with no needless scenes. I half expected the protag's relationship with the girl to result in a teenage sex scene. But it didn't and there's no way it would have fitted in with the film's race towards it's inevitable conclusion. Inevitable but not exactly predictable either. Stunning.