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Liam
2000
Originally produced for the B.B.C., director Stephen Frears masterfully crafts this poignant portrait of one family's attempt to stay afloat in impoverished 1930s England. The political, religious, and economic strife of pre-Word War II Liverpool is seen through the eyes of Liam (Anthony Burrows), a seven-year-old living with .. Read more
| Starring | Ian Hart, Claire Hackett, Anne Reid, Anthony Burrows |
|---|---|
| Director | Stephen Frears |
| Genres | Drama |
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Liam
Originally produced for the B.B.C., director Stephen Frears masterfully crafts this poignant portrait of one family's attempt to stay afloat in impoverished 1930s England. The political, religious, and economic strife of pre-Word War II Liverpool is seen through the eyes of Liam (Anthony Burrows), a seven-year-old living with Dad (Ian Hart) and Mam (Claire Hackett), and preparing himself for his First Communion. Dad is a deeply proud working class Catholic who labors tirelessly to feed his family, until he loses his job at the local shipyard. Desperate for money, Liam's teenage sister Teresa (Megan Burns) is forced to take a job as a maid for the upper class Jewish owners of the shipyard while Mam relies on her religious beliefs for strength and comfort. As Liam questions his own religious identity and struggles with the concepts of sin and salvation, he watches his father slip into a stagnant and hateful rage fueled by his family's poverty and loss of self-respect. This rage leads Dad to join a group of Fascists who blindly blame the local Jews for their own starvation, poverty, and powerlessness, as the threat of war looms on the horizon. Liam, portrayed with remarkable grace and ability by young Burrows, is a stuttering, charming, and naive antihero who embodies the profound innocence of children as they fight to comprehend the sometimes unfathomable actions of the adult world. This quiet ensemble piece highlights the actors, who deftly work together in a tale of simple realism which finds beauty in the daily routines and rituals of a family struggling to survive a daunting change.
| Starring | Ian Hart, Claire Hackett, Anne Reid, Anthony Burrows |
|---|---|
| Director | Stephen Frears |
| Studio | ARTIFICIAL EYE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 31 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 26 Dec 2001 Production year: 2000 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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Cosy nostalgia isn't Cracker writer Jimmy McGovern's stock in trade, as this portrait of an impoverished Liverpool childhood shows all too clearly. Directed by Stephen Frears, it's a familiar story of growing up poor and Catholic in the 1930s, as seen through the eyes of stuttering seven-year-old Liam (cheeky-faced newcomer Anthony Borrows). At times this seems like a compendium of scenes familiar from every other period film about working-class childhood — Liam at school, Liam in church, Liam at the movies. Similarly, the boy's world seems to be populated by stereotypes, such as his strident mum, the martinet schoolmarm and the over-zealous priest. Events take a melodramatic but no more convincing turn, when Liam's dad (Ian Hart) loses his job, and discovers a home for his incipient racism in the fascist Blackshirt movement. Director Frears has proved his versatility in a variety of genres and periods — from Dangerous Liaisons to High Fidelity) — but here you can't escape the feeling that he and the actors are simply ploughing a familiar furrow.
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"...Its warning of how religious intolerance can fester into hatred is one to be heeded more than ever....LIAM is ripe in humanity -- and even comedy..."
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Most helpful member's review
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Not entirely convincing
Chosen because it was written by Jimmy McGovern (Cracker/Hillsborough) it lived up to pre-viewing expectations that 'if it's not that good, it'll be better than most.' And that's how it was i'm afraid - hovering in suspension between, not bad and very good. McGovern tackles issues where he's been before, taking a swipe at the catholic church amongst other things, and it's done quite well. The acting is fine on the whole, some, such as Liam are excellent.
The trouble is that if you've watched Cracker before, you've seen most of this in one way or another.
The ending lacks the power that it should because, for a film that is dealing with hard-hitting issues, it gets a bit too ridiculous and relies too much on coincidences. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Not entirely convincing
Chosen because it was written by Jimmy McGovern (Cracker/Hillsborough) it lived up to pre-viewing expectations that 'if it's not that good, it'll be better than most.' And that's how it was i'm afraid - hovering in suspension between, not bad and very good. McGovern tackles issues where he's been before, taking a swipe at the catholic church amongst other things, and it's done quite well. The acting is fine on the whole, some, such as Liam are excellent.
The trouble is that if you've watched Cracker before, you've seen most of this in one way or another.
The ending lacks the power that it should because, for a film that is dealing with hard-hitting issues, it gets a bit too ridiculous and relies too much on coincidences. -
News and features
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- 01 Sep 2009
An Australian teenager has hit out at Miley Cyrus - accusing the superstar of wrecking her relationship with actor Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus, 16, recently completed filming new movie The Last Song with Aussie Hemsworth and was rumoured to have grown close to her on-screen love interest throughout the shoot. Speculation of a romance with Hemsworth, 18, rocketed when the star was reportedly spotting kissing him goodbye at Nashville Airport in Tennessee last month (Aug09). Cyrus has since denied... Read more
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