Back to trending
Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen

Crime · Drama · 2002

Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.

Movie details

Sweet Sixteen

“Life... it's about to hit the fan!”

2002 Crime · Drama 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Sweet Sixteen?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Drugstore Cowboy

Drugstore Cowboy

Drama · 1989

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Bully

Bully

Crime · 2001

A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.

Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York

Drama · 2002

In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Vallon's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people.

Snowtown

Snowtown

Crime · 2011

Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

Calm with Horses

Calm with Horses

Crime · 2020

In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.

Ill Manors

Ill Manors

Crime · 2012

Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.

Trainspotting

Trainspotting

Drama · 1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream

Crime · 2000

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

Menace II Society

Menace II Society

Drama · 1993

A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Drama · 1990

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ken Loach

Written by

Paul Laverty

Martin Compston

Martin Compston

Liam

Annmarie Fulton

Annmarie Fulton

Chantelle

William Ruane

William Ruane

Pinball

Michelle Abercromby

Michelle Abercromby

Suzanne

Michelle Coulter

Michelle Coulter

Jean

G

Gary McCormack

Stan

Tommy McKee

Tommy McKee

Rab

Court is in session

Put Sweet Sixteen on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.