Customer Reviews

Sweet Sixteen (2002) (Widescreen)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like another reviewer, I lived in Greenock (for more than 20 years.) This sad but true look on the darker side of life, for some is a reality. I enjoyed the humour (loved the advice to the Pizza delivery for re-heating the cold Pizza), the views of the Town and feel that film was well acted & well directed. This film caused quite a stir in Greenock when released in a very "this is not us" kind of way, but as many of the good people in Greenock know, sadly their town, like any other, is threatening to be over-run with the weeping sore that is drugs.
I rate the film highly as I found it enjoyable from start to end, the banter was quite understandable but would recommend for those who hail from outside of Greenock and surrounding area to use the subtitles. Unemployment rife, all major industry gone and the heart of what was once a great shipbuilding town flushed down the Clyde by successive crappy governments - for the reviewer that felt that the ending was pathetic - he was absolutley right - it is pathetic that there are people who have to live this way and end up following the shipbuilding. The really pathetic part is this drama is happening in every town. Liam, Chantelle, Pinball, Stan - they actually exist in some form, everywhere.
I don't live in Greenock anymore - I chose life....despite many trips home to see family & friends - I couldn't live there again.

The movie is sweet in its own way ... but seriously, is there anyone outside of Glasgow who could understand a word these people were saying? Granted, it makes the girls pretty alluring, those accents ...

Cold, depressing and realistic, Sweet Sixteen is bitter tale of a cycle unbroken. Can anyone, let alone the poor, ever achieve a goal of shattering that progression? Are we all destined to be what we are? And can family history and your past be left behind? I enjoyed this film immensely, reminded often of how people may change, but situations remain the same. Liam (played wonderfully by the handsome, athletic and very natural Martin Compston) knows his destiny. And, like his sister, knows there is a better life. But unlike Chantelle, Liam is willing to sell his soul to get it. While Chantelle studies hard at school, bring up her adorable son Calum, Liam will risk his own life to make his imprisoned mothers life better when she gets out in a few months, a day before his sweet 16 Birthday. But, reality sets in when he realizes what he must do to get that life. And while he's willing to do it, it is slowly killing his soul.

The films coldness works, as the sun is never seen. It reminds us that Liam, and the life of many in Glasgow (and really, this could be any town in any country), are not what movies are made about. It shows with laser point accuracy for some, the only way to "move on up" is to sell what little humanity you have left. Liam's sister knows the true way to succeed, but that's not for Liam. He loves his sister, his nephew and his mom, but Chantelle is disappointed that Liam cannot see the forest for the trees.

And, like so many, he learns too late that maybe his sister is right. Maybe her bitterness at her mother is justified (as Jean proves it by going back to her hateful boyfriend, Stan) and maybe there is away out of the hell you born into.

The cast is wonderful, led my Compston's Liam. Annmarie Fulton is the sister who must protect her son and brother, but feels she is losing him. Michelle Coulter is the mother you've seen on every episode of COPS and who continues to return to the one place that is perhaps, the worse place to be. Gary McCormack is the typical villain of sorts. His Stan is filled with so much hate, that you can understand why Liam would not want to be near him. But William Ruane stands out as Liam's best friend Pinball. He too is a lost soul, but finds himself on the short end of the stick. He tries to be like Liam, but finds that his destiny is no where near his best bud.

Finally, if you rent or buy this film, watch it with the captions on. The thick Scottish accent almost makes this film a foreign language contender. Still, it's a brilliant film that demands you to watch. It may last only 108 minutes, but you'll be thinking about it long after the credits have rolled.

As someone who has lived in the council estates of Scotland all my life, I enjoyed this film becuase it shows Scotland for what it truly is. For once, and refreshingly, there are no shots of mountains and castles.
The story is about a young guy called Liam growing up on a council estate in Greenock (a town outide Glasgow which has been caught up in unemployment due to decline in shipbuilding over the years. Also where the lead actor grew up and lives)

Liam wants a better life for his mum and sister but he needs to raise the cash to do this. And he raises the money through the only ways he knows how. Work? No. Drugs. Liam feels that selling drugs will help him by a 'home' to get his mother away from her drug dealing boyfriend. But he becomes involved with the notorious Glasgow underworld and gets sucked into further crime through desperation to proove his toughness, and the pull in the opposite direction of a future for his family.

This film is extraordinary becuase it tackles situations which most don't think about and it's totally realistic. Liam seems to have a good heart, but he is trapped by the society in which he has grown up. He has no real morals other than close family ties and the need to protect them. Despite the hopes of the viewer, we know that Liam is on the slippery slope and there is no way back.

The acting is superb. Martin Compston flourishes in his first ever role. He had absolutely no acting experience prior to this and was in fact a professional footballer. The supporting cast are all perfect for their roles. In particular the slightly insane Pinball (liam's best friend), Liam's loving sister Chantelle and the psycopath Stan.

I believe there are English subtitles on the DVD. The accent is very strong and unlike other films based on Scotland (Trainspotting/Braveheart) it is not toned down at all. Watching this film affects me personally as people I have grown up knowing have gone in similar ways to Liam. This films is good becuase it show Scotland for what it really is. Forget the mountains, castles and bagpipes. These things are tourist season show. Sweet Sixteen is life as it is the rest of the year.

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a very long while. It's just incredible, the actors were great and the story was very realistic. If you want something great and different, this is the movie for you, it's a masterpiece.

This is not a feel good movie, and you might be left with mixed emotions once the credits start rolling. But if you want a movie that isn't a fairy take, and one that forces you to think, Sweet Sixteen is a good choice.

I see no reason this film shouldn't have been made. I don't think Sweet Sixteen's purpose is to introduce or represent Scottish culture. It's about a youth, Liam, facing the dissapointments of life, and how cruel life can be.

It also is not heart-warming, and it was misleading for the packaging to include that word.

In Sweet Sixteen, I found myself hoping that once Liam's mother came out of prison that his life would get better: instead, the dissapointments kept coming. That happens in life.

I've heard good things about this movie, and decided to buy it. The only problem is that I can't really understand the actors. Their accent or something. I didn't know the movie was made in Scotland, but also thought I would understand the actors. I should have bought "Together" instead.

This movie has one of the misleading descriptions (written by it's American distributor?) that I have ever read. It's not a criticism of the film itself, but I just wish that film companies could be more honest in their descriptions. I suppose if they wrote an accurate synopsis of this film, then very few people would have seen it. Here's the description, verbatim, on the copy I rented:
"Martin Compston, William Ruane, Annmarie Fulton and Michelle Abercromby star in this heartwarming coming-of-age film, directed by Ken Loach, about a rough-and-tough Scottish teen who wants to create a home for himself and his mother ... literally. When his mom is finally released from prison, Liam (Martin Compston) sets out to raise the money that will buy their dream house."

OK, what that description doesn't tell you is that Liam raises the money by selling drugs, that there's nothing "heartwarming" about the story whatsoever (I think a better word is "chilling"), and that the movie is not a coming-of-age tale, but a cinema-verité look at the drug and underworld culture of postindustrial urban Scotland. It's not a bad film, but it's sometimes gratuitously depressing and dark. If you like really, really dark films about the seedy underbelly of life where there are no heroes and no happy endings, then this movie may be for you. But, don't go by the description, or you will definitely be disappointed.

having read the reviews here i can concur with those that question whether such a gritty film had to be made. But i do so perhaps for different reasons - i come from the town in question (Greenock) and can assure you it DOES reflect life as it can be in a town rife with unemployment and populated by many who dont have a clue what tomorrow will bring. Dark it is. Gritty too. But dont question its reality - if you want escapism dont watch it, but as a portrayal of life in many parts of the UK it hits the mark - and with a fair amount of humour too.

Having left Scotland for good a year ago after more than 30 years in country, I decided to watch this movie and see what all the fuss was about. I really wish I hadn't.

Ken Loach may be a brilliant director but I'd question why this movie needed making. I realise movies have to reflect all sides of life but this particular 'gritty' slice of west-coast Scotland drug-taking, cursing, ennui and violence was 2 hours that I could have done without.

I'm a big fan of movies made in my country; from Trainspotting to Local Hero, they all have something to offer. Sweet Sixteen just depressed the hell out of me in a way not even Irvine Welsh's The Acid House didn't.

Liam comes from a bad background and there appears to be no way out. Despite his best efforts, his dreams are eventually shattered when his jailbird mother rejects a new life (albeit narcotically-funded) and instead returns to her abusive lover. Young Liam finds this too hard to deal accept and ends up stabbing his mothers' lover. The movie ends on his 16th birthday with him seemingly giving up all hope and almost certainly facing time in prison.

Interesting movie (which enticed me into a burst of Scottish swearing which my American wife did NOT like) but not something I'd like to watch again.