| | | It's you and Liam, against the world.
Features: DVD
Determined to have a normal family life a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
"A classic." Stephen Hunter, Washinton Post
"A beautiful, grim tale." Steven Rae, Philadelphia Inquirer
Editor's Note
In the depressed Scottish town of Greenock, 15-year-old Liam (Martin Compston) anxiously awaits the release of his mother, Jean (Michelle Coulter), from prison. Kicked out of school, with only Jean's abusive boyfriend Stan, and her hateful father for guidance, Liam sets out on his own in hopes of having a fresh start waiting for his mother when she gets out. Deciding to buy a cottage near the river where he, his mother, and his sister, Chantelle (Annmarie Fulton) can live--Liam needs a way to make money as quickly as possible. He steals a stash of heroin from Stan, for him and his loose-cannon best friend, Pinball, to sell on the street--but it turns out that they're infringing on the territory of Tony (Martin McCardie), a local gangster. But Tony, admiring Liam's entrepreneurial spirit, takes Liam in as part of his gang and gives him the chance to increase his earnings exponentially. Echoing his 1969 classic, KES, SWEET SIXTEEN sees British film veteran Ken Loach once again combining the coming-of-age film with the type of social realism for which he has become known. Casting mostly non-actors, including extremely talented lead Martin Compston, the film successfully generates the thrills one expects from the best youth culture films, but has an edge of gritty realism that one never sees in Hollywood fare. Capturing a true imprint of contemporary UK teenhood--including cell phones, drugs, hip-hop style, "joyriding," and an abundance of four-letter words, screenwriter Paul Laverty's script rings true, making us care about characters who do foolish things because they exist in a society with few other options.
| Features | Scene Selection | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Director Commentary | | Deleted Scenes | | Interactive Menus |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Lions Gate |
| Release Date: 5/2/2006 |
| Running Time: 97 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 1002-D | | UPC: 00031398100225 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Mr. Compston's untamed star power gives the movie a heart, a sweetness that makes the title heartfelt and not just cheaply ironic..." 05/16/2003 p.E16Entertainment Weekly
"...There's a kind of purity to Liam's self-imprisonment, as well as an unpolished power to the performances the director gets from his cast, most of them first-time actors..." 05/23/2003 p.54 USA Today
"...The story dynamics ring true, and Compston is an unpolished natural..." 05/23/2003 p.5E Los Angeles Times
"...It's one of the most emotional and compelling the filmmaker has ever made. Confident, uncompromising and blisteringly realistic, SWEET SIXTEEN is a gritty and immediate film yet it goes right to the emotions..." 05/23/2003 p.C1 Total Film
"...It features an astonishing turn from untrained Scottish teen Martin Compston..." 08/01/2003 p.128 Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
The movie's performances have a simplicity and accuracy that is always convincing. Compston, who plays Liam, is a local 17-year-old discovered in auditions at his school. He has never acted before, but is effortlessly natural. Michelle Coulter, who plays his mother, is a drug rehab counselor who also has never acted before, and Annmarie Fulton, who plays the sister Chantelle, has studied acting but never appeared in a film. - Roger Ebert
L.A. Times 9 of 10
Played with impeccable honesty and a real feeling for the truth of its characters and their situation, Sweet Sixteen brings to mind The Asphalt Jungle's famous dictum that crime is no more than a left-handed form of human endeavor. For not the first time, it is the business of Loach to involve us in a world where, tragically, that hand is the only one offered. - Kenneth Turan
James Berardinelli's ReelViews 9 of 10
Eschewing melodrama, Loach is able to present Liam's story in a frank, straightforward manner that shows how easily it is for someone in his position to become sucked into the criminal world. There's also a surprising amount of humor, especially during the first half. (One line, about the "definition of initiative" is laugh-aloud hilarious.) Yes, this is a political movie (at least it has a political viewpoint), but, more than that, it's a character study of an individual who will not easily be forgotten. - James Berardinelli
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