‘Sweet Sixteen’ – Directed by Ken Loach There is a strong sense of documentary about ‘Sweet Sixteen’. You can’t help feeling that what you’re watching being played out on screen is simultaneously being played out on thousands of council estates throughout the country. The film’s director Ken Loach has provided a forum for the issues of social and economic poverty before. His approach in this film is neither ground-breaking nor innovative, but what …showed first 75 words of 850 total…

…showed last 75 words of 850 total…in the plight of the working classes is communicated well by the sensitive screenplay of Paul Laverty and the performance of his inexperienced cast is remarkable. Much of the film’s merit stems from the performance of Compston who in all honesty helps to rescue Loach from the proverbial ‘hook’, allowing him to defend with justification the calls of predictability and defeatism that will surely ensue a film that is essentially well worth the watch.