Liam (2000 film)
- "Liam" redirects here. For other uses, see Liam (disambiguation).
| Liam | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Written by | Jimmy McGovern |
| Starring | Liam O'Callaghan, Kirby Masterman, Nishannt Deshpande, Megan Burns |
Release dates | September 4, 2000, Venice Film Festival |
Running time | 1 hour 31 min. |
| Budget | $3 million U.S. |
Liam is a batty Liam (2000) is a British film directed by Stephen Frears and written by novelist/screenwriter Jimmy McGovern. McGovern (perhaps best known as the creator of Brit TV crime drama Cracker) adapted his own novel The Back Crack Boys into this emotionally raw meditation on innocence and pain. Frears in turn was influenced by James Joyce's accounts of his stern childhood in late 19th century Catholic Dublin.
Awards
- British Independent Film Awards, 2001, Best Actor (Ian Hart) - nomination
- Venice Film Festival, 2000, Marcello Mastroianni Award (Megan Burns) - win
- Venice Film Festival, 2000, OCIC Award (Stephen Frears) - win
- Venice Film Festival, 2000, Golden Lion (Stephen Frears) - nomination
- Young Artist Awards, 2002, Young Actor Age Ten or Under (Anthony Borrows) - nomination
The Film
Liam's parents and older brother celebrate New Year's Eve in 1930s Liverpool with a rousing evening at the pub while young Liam (Anthony Borrows) and Teresa (Megan Burns) watch through the steamed-up window. But the seeds of tension are present, as shown in a singing duel between two Irish immigrants, one Catholic and the other Protestant - casting a damper on the evening.
Soon afterwards, Liam's Dad (Ian Hart) is laid off from his dockworker job. He swallows his pride to buy the foreman in charge of hiring temps a "softening-up" pint, only to have the power-drunk man refuse him work anyway. In increasing bitterness, he fights with his proud, exhausted wife (Claire Hackett), rants at his Irish New Year's Eve drinking buddies to go home and stop taking English jobs, and begins to hover on the fringes of fascist rallies.
Meanwhile, little Liam struggles with his stammer and listens to horrifying lessons on sin and shame at school, tag-teamed by his otherwise kindly teacher and the priest. After accidentally seeing his mother naked in the bath, Liam worries his sins have caused her to grow pubic hair - something absent on the idealized nudes in the school art book.
Teresa lands a kitchenmaid job with the wealthy Jewish family who own the dockyard, and is immediately bribed by the wife with gifts of leftovers, handmedown clothes, and finally cash, to hide evidence of her affair from her husband.
All the plot threads connect as Liam and Teresa wilt under the weight of the sins they feel they are keeping secret, while Dad's anger explodes outward in a devastating way.
Scenes shot in pools of lamplight with dark fringes mirror the film's central theme of innocence versus sin. The spare, visual storytelling relies on the body language of the actors far more than on dialogue and none of the principals disappoint.
External links
- Liam at the Internet Movie Database
- Salon.com Review: Charles Taylor.
- The Guardian Review: Peter Bradshaw.
- The Chicago Sun-Times Review: Roger Ebert.