Sweet Sixteen – 2002 | 105mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Gritty social-realist drama marking Ken Loach’s return to examining the mean streets of Scotland with long-time collaborator Paul Laverty. Sweet Sixteen is a thoughtful and grimly humorous look at a teenager’s aspiration for a better life rather than the depressing destiny paved for him by his background.

Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, Greenock teenager, Liam (Martin Compston) sets out to raise enough money to buy a ramshackle caravan overlooking the Clyde as a new home for himself and his mother. His drug-addicted mum, Jean (Michelle Coulter), is in prison awaiting release before Liam’s 16th birthday, while her drug-dealing boyfriend Stan (Gary McCormack) roams free. To fund the purchase of their proposed new home, Liam hatches a plan with his best friend Pinball (William Ruane) to steal Stan’s heroin, then begin selling it. But soon he is caught up with the local crime boss, who admires Liam’s endeavour and make him part of his business after a horrific initiation. However, soon Liam’s new career becomes more complicated and, inevitably, brutal.