16 Years Of Alcohol Details

Former punk rocker and film critic Richard Jobson reinvents himself once more as a movie director, with a debut feature that draws inspiration from both a semi-autobiographical novel and A Clockwork Orange. Frankie Mac (Kevin McKidd) and his little gang of sociopaths even dress like the droogs in Kubrick's film. The son of a hard-drinking womaniser, Frankie has grown up in a world where life revolves largely around the pub and drinking. As a youth he develops problems not only with alcohol but also with violence, and attempts to change his ways after meeting an art student (Laura Fraser). But a new life proves difficult when his erstwhile peers seem to be waiting around every corner. Jobson's film, particularly in its use of voiceover, teeters on the point of pretentiousness at times, but is nevertheless rescued by a towering performance from McKidd and a surprisingly assured visual style from the debutant director.

Jobson's debut feature, adapted from his own novel, singed with personal experience, is an impressively ambitious and... read more on Time Out