Sweet Sixteen is about a teenage boy named Liam (Martin Compston) who has no job, no money and has dropped out of school. His mom (Annmarie Fulton) is in prison for drug possession, his grandfather has disowned him and his mom's boyfriend is a nasty prick. Liam doesn't have a lot going for him except his ambition, his decent looks and the love of his sister, who tries to steer him in the right direction.

Determined to guide his mom away from the bad influence of her boyfriend Stan (Gary McCormack), Liam decides to make enough money to buy his mom a trailer home overlooking a river. He and his buddy Pinball (William Ruane) sell cigarettes to locals but it isn't enough to make ends meet so they take the next logical step; they start selling drugs.

From here it is nothing but trouble for Liam as he gets in with the local big kingpin drug dealer who bribes him to join his clan. Liam does so reluctantly and in the process loses his best friend who is excluded from helping with sales by the dealers.

Ken Loach cinema is the cinema of aggression and confrontation. His thick English accented characters exist in mean streets where the f-word and the c-word are flung around like confetti and fist fights break out as much as rain showers do. It should be noted too that even though many of the main characters are under the age of 18 the film itself is not necessarily for those under 18.

Despite all of this and despite the fact that Loach's films are very class conscious, depressingly down-to-earth, strongly acted and well written they are somewhat formulaic. They are powerful pieces of social cinema but they don't go anywhere you don't expect them to go. However, he is certainly to be applauded for the gritty realism and hard hitting social critiques that he shows us. Sweet Sixteen is a very good film. If you've never seen a Loach film then watch it, if you have seen his other films expect pretty much more of the same.

How does it Look?
The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 anamorphic and is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. Much of the film is shot in natural light, which makes the indoor scenes dark and the outdoor scenes react to the fluctuating light. Otherwise the image has a documentary feel to it although it is sharp and clear.

How does it Sound?
Since the film is shot in Scotland the accents are quite heavy. So much so that it would behoove just about anyone watching to utilize the subtitle function. The film is dialogue heavy with only a few music interludes. The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Extras:
There are Six Deleted Scenes which last about 16 minutes. One of them is an alternative take of an existing scene and the other five are linking scenes that would have not added much to the original film. There is also a Commentary Track by Ken Loach, which is pretty poor. Loach is an intelligent guy but his comments are few and far between and what little he says doesn't add up to much. They should have just done an interview.

Overall:
Sweet Sixteen is a tough film about the fate of a teenage boy who goes down the wrong path in trying to do the right thing to help his mother when she finally gets out of prison. The DVD looks and sounds great. The extras don't add much to the film but the film itself has a lot to say.