Loach accurately captures the dreams of one confused teenager.
Think of the violent enthusiasm of a dozen English soccer hooligans mixed with the enterprising skills of a young Donald Trump and a heart the size of a lion. With a certain adolescent Vinnie Jones (that former soccer player in Guy Ritchie’s films) appeal, you’ve got the portrait of a rough and tough young man who keeps his word, sticks to his promises and aspires for a better life than the one that was handed to him. With a passion for getting inside the minds and hearts of his characters, Ken Loach captures the raw youthful energy with an honesty that is all too infrequent in the countless mainstream characters in cinema.
Where every third word of dialogue begins with the letter c and ends with a word that rhymes with
Aunt, Sweet Sixteen is about Liam, (brilliantly played by unprofessional actor Martin Compston) a street kid from the streets of Glasgow whose upbringing is partly responsible for his antics and this young protagonist, a pit-bull of sorts who bites into life is loyal to those who belong to his intimate family, including his friend named pinball. Both come from broken families, this film explores how they are both broken people themselves. With a mother in jail awaiting release and an abusive father, the 15 year-old looks to make amends with his past by saving up for a trailer home with a view of the sea all for his beloved mother. The film captures his hope, his desire and his fearlessness and the rage in all its splendor and back dropped against the inside the working class town where the accents are so hard to decipher (I thought Brad Pitt was hard to understand in Snatch) that we are provided with subtitles. When the big 1- 6 hits, his anniversary is perhaps bitter sweet.
Loach presents us with a strong character-driven story, where the protagonist and his encounters is filmed with an integrity that captures the rawness of the character which is extended into the cinematography of the locales where each sequence seems to be present only to capture a reality of some sorts. He never celebrates or condones his main character; it makes for a likeable kid despite his sometimes youthful lack in judgment. In fact, we get so attached to this character that when the plot throws us some unforeseen dramatic undertones and for every stabbing moment we hope that he somehow manages to come out onto the other side unscathed.
There is a beauty found in honest portrayals, this is why the film works, and this is why it touches us. Sweet Sixteen took home the Best Screenplay award at Cannes, deservingly so, Loach delivers us the type of unforgettable face of a brave kid that Truffaut once captured in his 400 Blows, we often remember the heroes that must combat life’s cruelness especially from those who never had a chance to enjoy their own childhood.
