Liam (Film)
- Ian Hart: father
- Claire Hackett: Mother
- Anthony Borrows: Liam
- David Hart: Con
- Megan Burns: Teresa
- Anne Reid: Mrs. Abernathy
- Russell Dixon: Father Ryan
- Julia Deakin: Aunt Aggie
- Andrew Schofield: Uncle Tom
- Bernadette Shortt: Lizzie
- David Carey: Lizzie's husband
Liam is a British- French- German film drama directed by Stephen Frears from the year 2000. Jimmy McGovern wrote the screenplay based on the own novel The Back Crack Boys.
Action
The action takes place in the 1930s in Liverpool. The little family is Catholic Liam and Liam is about to First Communion. He is afraid of hell, with him threatening the priest. In the Catholic school, he is often punished physically. The family is in financial difficulties; the money for the right clothes for Liam's First Communion is missing.
Liam's father loses his job in a shipyard, to which he had been proud of. He joins cited by Oswald Mosley British fascists. Liam's sister Teresa works as a maid for a family of Jewish descent. The daughter of these people want to be friendly towards Teresa; she gives her some clothes. Teresa's mother wants Teresa one of the dresses select them, so that the family could pledge the other.
During the Communion Liam's father is on in the Church and competes against the Jews. That a Jew owned pawnshop in which Teresa's clothes were pledged is burned. Teresa itself is forced to cancel her work in Jewish family. When she announced her employers, grab Liam's father and his comrades at the house with a Molotov cocktail. Teresa suffers burns; her face is disfigured by it.
Reviews
Foreign language reviews
Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun - Times 5 October 2001, for the film were much the changes would see Liam and his father Liam's First Communion as well as the loss of a job and the political activities of his father. The film shows " sharp " and " ruthless " events. He lived by the "strong representations " of the those of Anthony Borrows and Ian Hart were particularly outstanding. Hart embodies a man who could not bear the pain caused by his shortcomings and someone else should be blamed. His anti-Semitism deliver him from the self-blame.
Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times on 21 September 2001, the film was " made complex, heartbreaking and beautiful." He 'll tell you "eloquent " and " painful " about the problems that seem to be confronted with the even the contemporary viewer. The film was produced for the BBC, respect those traditions of the intransigence of the director and he was only committed to the truth.
German -language reviews
The lexicon of international film wrote that the film was " tightly staged, brilliantly played and marked by an aesthetically attractive color scheme ." He was " consistently from the child's perspective of the seven year-old son says ," and describe " unsentimental and sensitively the terror of social crisis and an excessively strict religious upbringing ." The " precisely described human chaos " would " impressive picture of a characterized by unemployment, racism and religious dissensions British society " reflect.
The magazine Cinema wrote, the social drama bribe " with rough humanity." It was " especially the incorruptible naive view of the young Anthony Borrows thanks to them that - in spite of the bottomless tragedy - makes his dreams of a better future to their own ."
The magazine wrote prism, the director had " once again discovered his heart for socially explosive substances" and describe " a gritty insight into the everyday life of the working layer of the Thirties ." This done, " skillfully from the perspective of a child ." The history come but " never really got going ." Were particularly praised the illustrations by Ian Hart and Anthony Borrows.
Awards
Megan Burns won the Marcello Mastroianni - Prize of the International Film Festival of Venice in 2000. Stephen Frears won the OCIC Award and was nominated for the Golden Lion.
Stephen Frears was nominated in 2000 for the Golden Spike Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid. Ian Hart was nominated for the 2001 British Independent Film Award. Anthony Borrows was nominated in 2002 for the Young Artist Award.
Background
The film was shot in Wigan in Manchester. Its production costs amounted to an estimated 3 million U.S. dollars.
The film had its world premiere on 4 September 2000 at the International Film Festival in Venice. On 8 September 2000, he was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film played in the cinemas of the United States about a million U.S. dollars.