I turned 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life. The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously.
For the final movie of this project centered around me, I’ve gone full vanity with a film title that is also my name.
2000
Top Grossing Movies of 2000:
- Mission: Impossible 2
- Gladiator
- Cast Away
- What Women Want
- Dinosaur
Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 2000:
- Gladiator
- Chocolat
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger
- Erin Brockovich
- Traffic
Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 2000:
- Almost Famous
- But I’m a Cheerleader
- The Clash: Westway to the World
- Dancer in the Dark
- Dark Days
- Dolphins
- Downtown ’81
- The Emperor’s New Groove
- The Gleaners and I
- High Fidelity
- In the Mood for Love
- Memento
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- The Virgin Suicides
- Waydowntown
- XXXY
- Yi Yi
Title: Liam
Release Date: 4 September 2000
Director: Stephen Frears
Production Company: BBC Films | Arte
Summary/Review:
Set in Liverpool during the Great Depression, the film is named for Liam (Anthony Borrows), an adorable 8-year-old with a terrible stutter. At his strict Catholic school he is preparing for first confession and first communion from teachers who terrify kids about the evils of sin. His dad (Ian Hart) is laid off from the shipyard and grows increasingly involved in the British fascist movement, railing against Irish immigrants “stealing jobs” and the supposed to Jewish conspiracy behind it.* Liam’s Mum (Claire Hackett) tries to hold the family together but is short-tempered as a result. Liam’s preteen sister Theresa (Megan Burns) finds work as a maid for a wealthy Jewish family but finds herself complicit in her employer’s affair. Meanwhile, his teenage brother Con (David Hart) is drawn to the Socialists.
As detailed above, the film is contrived to get every member involved in some topical matter of the day. The climax of the film is built on the most improbable of coincidences. Plotwise, it’s kind of cheezy. But I do love the individual performances and the period details of working class Liverpool in the 1930s. In order to provide a child’s point of view, much of the film is shot from a low angle to great effect.
* – I was a bit confused by the father who I believe is an English Protestant while the mother and children are Catholic. The family name is Sullivan which is Irish, so his hatred of the Irish when his family are Irish Catholics and he’s presumably of Irish ancestry, seems strange. But then hatred doesn’t always make sense.
Rating: ***
Panorama of the Mountains 