16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Movie Information:

16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Directed by: Richard Jobson 16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Written by: Richard Jobson 16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Cast: Ewen Bremner, Kevin McKidd, Laura Fraser, Susan Lynch, Stuart Blyth, Michael Moreland, Russell Anderson, Iain De Caestecker, Lewis MacLeod, Lisa Cooper

16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) U.S. Distributor: Tartan Films USA 16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) U.K. Distributor: Tartan Films

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16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Synopsis:

This film explores one man's battle against the social and psychological ravages of alcoholism. As a child, Frank is confronted with two pathways in life, relating back to his ambivalent feelings for his father. Faced with this swaggering man, a womanizer and a drinker, Frank is torn between rejection and unconscious imitation. From then on, he continually vacillates between a desire for self-control and stability, and giving in to hatred and mistrust, a legacy of his painful experience of betrayal. His first precocious glass of alcohol drags him in this dangerous direction, which continues throughout his adulthood.

16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) Movie Review:

Kevin Mc Kidd plays Frankie, in a semi – autobiographical tale expressed mainly in flashbacks to three different stages in his life. As a child, his father is both his hero and a destructive personality who influences impressionable young Frankie’s perception of the world.

In his teenage years he becomes embroiled in violent gang – culture, which he tries desperately to escape for the sake of a new love, which gives him just a glimpse of a better life.
Finally, as a grown man, Frankie is faced with the choice of falling backwards into alcohol - soaked violence, or facing up to his dubious past. To do this, he has to explore what led him there and break the cycle in which he finds himself trapped, if he is to achieve his dream of finding (and keeping) true love. But can he escape?

“Sixteen Years” is a very ambitious film, in that you get a sense of courage and conviction in the presentation. Richard Jobson seems to have set out to do something very specific and disciplined with his directorial debut. This is definitely a man who wants to make an impact.

Jobson, who also wrote the book of the same name, obviously knows the material inside out, and it shows, as everything is well structured into the three eras, and the narrative which runs throughout is very eloquent and prose – like.
Mc Kidd fits the bill perfectly, as he has a real presence, suited to this pivotal role. He seems to really become Frankie, and has matured into a fine and handsome actor. It’s also pleasing to see him taking centre stage and getting a chance to show us what he’s capable of, ranging from murderous aggression to gentle adulation. As Frankie also acts as the narrator of his own life, there is also the added dimension of getting inside the head of the character, explaining his odd reactions to things and why he has grown to be such a broken man.

The first segment concentrates on his early life, witnessing his father’s lush and two - timing ways, (and inability to deal with real life situations) that leave him ever sceptical of people’s motives. It captures times past fondly, and occasionally harks back when required. Spacious shots are used, with little Frank in the corner of the screen, the little guy learning about the big, cruel world ahead of him.
Rather than bringing along another set of baggage to his adolescence, (his parents are just memories by that point), the focus stays on Frank as he’s growing up, and falling in with the wrong crowd.

This section stands out as being a homage to “A Clockwork Orange”, even before the movie poster appears on his bedroom wall.
He hangs around the streets with violent skinheads, and when trying to apologise for the behaviour of his Cro-Magnon chums, his future girlfriend succinctly summarises, “You chose them.”

This is Frankie’s battle to make the right choices – drink or don’t drink, fight or don’t fight, care or don’t care. It’s just a case of him making all the right choices (at the right moments) and everything in his life could just slot into place. But he incapable of this until he moves on from the past, and his happiness would be short - lived with his evil former friends always one step behind him, adding to the dilemma.

The hopelessness of his situation is overwhelming, but so is his desire to succeed which prevents us giving up on him.
The movie is not for everyone, though. It’s very wordy, which is good if you like wordy, but not everyone does. Some prefer scenes and expression to take precedence. It’s also a little stagy in places, but as verbal, artistic and theatrical elements play a part in the story, this is hardly surprising.

As a movie critic in a previous life, Jobson may have a higher awareness of how to please an audience than some, and be using it to his advantage (and why not?), but his obvious creative flair and vision should satiate any nay-sayers.

It’s a strong, compelling debut, but not a classic. There is potential for that, but not just yet.

Sixteen Years…Richard Jobson, former member of punk band “The Skids”, Movie Critic, Promising Director.

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16 Years Of Alcohol (2004) review written by: Terresa Gaffney