Sweet Sixteen (2002)

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, Pinbal...
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l, 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.
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Paul Laverty writes his fourth script with director Ken Loach for the gritty coming-of-age drama Sweet Sixteen. Set in the port city of Greenock, Scotland, local kid Liam (Martin Compston) spends his days trying to make money with his best friend, Pinball (William Ruane). When he refuses to use his imprisoned mother, Jean (Michelle Coulter), as a drug mule, his criminal stepfather, Stan (Gary McCormack), and bitter grandfather, Rab (Tommy McKee), kick him out of the house. He moves in with his levelheaded older sister, Chantelle (Annmarie Fulton), who is a single parent to toddler Callum and has no love for their...
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mother. Liam quickly comes up with the idea to buy a trailer for himself and his mom when she gets out of prison on the day before his 16th birthday. In order to get enough money to make a down payment, he comes up with a plan to steal Stan's drug stash and sell it to local junkies. With Pinball at his side, Liam starts to develop the skills of a successful businessman and gets noticed by a group of big-time dealers. Gang leader Tony (Martin McCardie) sees his potential and makes him an offer, which leads Liam toward the life of crime that he was trying to avoid in the first place.
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Liam is vastberaden om zijn moeder Jean te beletten dat zij opnieuw in haar vroegere leven terechtkomt, een leven dat gedomineerd werd door haar vriend Stan, een drugdealer, en door zijn verdorven grootvader. Liam's vurigste wens is om zijn familie weer samen te brengen, zijn moeder Jean, zijn halfzus Chantelle en haar zoon Calum.

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