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Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in 2002, Sweet Sixteen represents Ken Loach's finest and most successful work in years. Set in Greenock, a small Glaswegian suburb whose magnificent surrounding landscape contrasts with the urban deprivation of its grey streets and tenements, it tells the story of 15-year-old Liam (Martin Compston), an entrepreneurial young scamp who flogs knocked-off cigarettes in pubs with his best mate Pinball. However, determined to wean his imprisoned mother off her drug-dealing boyfriend Stan, he graduates to selling hard drugs for big-time gangster Tony. He's unscrupulous yet selfless, happy to resort to crime to create a new life for his mum and reunite her with his older sister Chantelle. But reality will sorely test his naive illusions.
Sweet Sixteen, scripted by Paul Laverty, is quintessential Loach, exciting tremendous sympathy for a character whom in real life you might distantly regard as a contemptible scumbag, without romanticising either him or his lifestyle and upbringing. Yet there's real and touching pathos in his deep-seated need to restore his fractured, domestic background: touchingly and pathetically he regards the tiny £6,000 riverside caravan he's earmarked for his mum as "paradise". By the end of the movie, you truly want to hug the poor knife-wielding smack dealer. The cast of (mostly) unknowns all turn in sterling, authentic performances but Martin Compston rightly took plaudits for his unaffected, deeply engaging portrayal of Liam.
On the DVD: Sweet Sixteen on disc offers numerous extras. Subtitles including English may prove necessary even for English speakers to cut through the foggy Glaswegian accents. In the commentary, Loach slams the British Board of Film Censors for their "ludicrous" decision to award the film an 18 certificate. Meanwhile, a short documentary, Sweet Success, reflects on how the film wowed Cannes and the impact it's had on the life of its star, the 17-year-old plucked from obscurity in a mass audition who gave up a promising career as a professional footballer to take up acting instead. --David Stubbs
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I am astonished I'm the first person to post a review on this masterpiece ! I'm french an in my country, Ken Loach is admired as the great film maker he truly is. And in my point of view, this film is perhaps his best, because even if you disagree with his political view, you will be deeply moved by the principal character. Great plot, great actors, it is human, complex, beautiful and captivating. Please watch it. Vive Ken Loach.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A dark and harrowing film which follows an optimistic teenager in the drug-infested culture of the housing estates in Greenock in the West of Scotland. Liam wants to make a better life for himself, and his mother when she is released from prison, but to do that he needs money... His ambition and naivety quickly lead him out of his depth, but his vision that things really could be better means that he can't back away. Powerful stuff, and definitely worth watching - especially for the outstanding début performance by Martin Compston as Liam.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Sweet Sixteen puts the West of Scotland ned firmly onto the big screen. The film follows the trials and travails of 'Liam' (Martin Compston) as he descends from a directionless youth into a seasoned drug dealer. His motives are naively sweet - to create a better life for his dysfunctional family members, especially his mother who is soon to be released from HMP Cornton Vale.
Although hard-hitting and coarse throughout (don't watch this if you're easily offended by those elements of the English language that don't usually feature in dictionaries), Sweet Sixteen also contains much black humour and is a riveting 106 minutes.
Watching this fictional tale, you can't help feeling that, unfortunately, this movie is probably close in some respects to the day-to-day reality for some urban youth in Scotland, and that's what makes it a more profound film (where 'success' at turn of the century Scotland is defined as a part time job in a call centre, or a life of crime).
The DVD also contains 6 outakes that didn't make the final cut. One of them, when Stan's jacket is ruined with a pair of scissors, is actually a classic scene and really should have been in there.
Another 'extra' is a full 30 minute BBC Scotland documentary that followed up on the success of the movie.
Overall, a great performance by Martin Compston (who went on to appear in films such as Red Road) and a genuinely amusing urban tale.
Although hard-hitting and coarse throughout (don't watch this if you're easily offended by those elements of the English language that don't usually feature in dictionaries), Sweet Sixteen also contains much black humour and is a riveting 106 minutes.
Watching this fictional tale, you can't help feeling that, unfortunately, this movie is probably close in some respects to the day-to-day reality for some urban youth in Scotland, and that's what makes it a more profound film (where 'success' at turn of the century Scotland is defined as a part time job in a call centre, or a life of crime).
The DVD also contains 6 outakes that didn't make the final cut. One of them, when Stan's jacket is ruined with a pair of scissors, is actually a classic scene and really should have been in there.
Another 'extra' is a full 30 minute BBC Scotland documentary that followed up on the success of the movie.
Overall, a great performance by Martin Compston (who went on to appear in films such as Red Road) and a genuinely amusing urban tale.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Master At Work
Ken Loach's 2002 masterpiece Sweet Sixteen is yet another example of what this doyen of (British) filmmaking does best - namely take a real social issue, choose real people (often,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Keith M
Sweet sixteen
Great film very easy to understand because I to am Scottish but I think people in England will need subtitles on just to understand it another great film by ken roach it was also... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. r gowans
almost good if it wasn't for the ending.
Great scottish accents throughout with a lot of bad language. I loved the film without the rubbish ending! I lived in Scotland for 32 years and I miss the accent so much! Read more
Published 17 months ago by lindalewis
depressing but brilliant
Ken Loach films never let you down.
This film is depressing but brilliantly acted, its hard hitting and bleak,and leaves you feeling low. Read more
This film is depressing but brilliantly acted, its hard hitting and bleak,and leaves you feeling low. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. G. Elderton
Ken Loach goes into Scorsese territory
This is a harrowing film of how a young man can go astray. It was curious that one of his problems is a blind love of his mum, (the sort of thing mafioso's are famous for). Read more
Published 23 months ago by William Cohen
Absolutely believable!
This is an amazing film. Initially its hard to follow the plot as the glaswegian accents are so strong, however as the story unfolds you can't help but get wrapped up in the... Read more
Published on 8 May 2010 by Jasmine Grant
excellent!
I love this film, it's dead realistic and I love recognising places. It's so funny aswell, and he's so stunning! haha
Published on 5 Feb 2008 by heather-x
Loach-tastic. Brilliant.
Despite its title, "Sweet Sixteen" is one decidedly sour film. This movie isn't based on an Irvine Welsh novel, but with its gritty examination of tough Scottish street life, it... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2006 by Billy Ray Cyrus
Loah on form
Good to see Ken Loach back on form.Sweet Sixteen comes across as if it was documentary....a Loach hallmark. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2006 by Peter Carr
sweetest sixteen
this movie is really good.its not the type i'd usually watch becoz i prefer more hood movies etc. but this film was hookin me. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2005 by rianne destiny parris wright
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