16 YEARS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE (2003)

Directed by Peter Jobson. Starring Kevin McKidd, Laura Fraser, Susan Lynch. Drama. Synopsis:  A happy child turns into a troubled teen and an angry, violent adult  after his disillusionment at discovering the absence of love between his parents and beginning his reliance on alcohol. As an adult, he meets two women who give him a chance at love and redemption, but will he be able to fully let his past go so that he can face a brighter future?

Although this British film was released in '03, I just recently saw it in the new release section of the local vid store and decided to check it out because it had two actresses whose work I really liked in previous films: Laura Fraser (Iron Jawed Angels) and Susan Lynch (From Hell), so I picked it up.

This movie is hard to describe, because its told in an unusual way, you won't see anything you have not seen somewhere else before, but Jobson definitely has a style all his own. The story is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and we are introduced to Frankie as a boy who idolizes his heroic like father and loves his mom (mum?)  That is all shattered when Frankie catches his dad philandering and realizes that his hero has feet of clay. Nothing eccentric here, but Jobson employs narration throughout the film and, as we see from the get go, the narration of Frankie often tells us what is going to happen before it does or, worse, tells us the meaning of what we are watching. Not a deal breaker for me, I like narratives when done in a certain way, but I could have done without that.

Next we jump to Frankie (Kevin McKidd) as a tough, violent teenager who is the leader of a group of skin heads who is not above pounding on a pub owner or a fellow gang member at the slightest provocation. That is, he is pretty set in his ways until he meets Helen (Laura Fraser) and an improbable romance blooms between the artistic, thoughtful Helen and the vodka swilling, tough guy Frankie. Well, as you might guess, Helen gradually changes Frankie, who starts to let his hair grow out and even pounds on one of his boys in defense of Helen's honor, and ultimately declares his willingness to forgo violence as well as drink for Helen, if not his love.

Things go swimmingly for a few minutes until we find Frankie and Helen at an art show, where Frankie ends up being pretty descriptive to a condescending older couple who are looking at art along side Frankie. Well, Helen witnesses this and, convinced that Frankie will never change, dumps him right there and then. Back to the flask for Frankie, who does still think enough of Helen to beat up and disfigure a former gang buddy who communicates his less than honorable intentions about Helen to Frankie.

After this, its on to acting classes and AA for Frankie, who meets a woman also trying to forget her past named Mary (Susan Lynch From Hell). This romance seems to have real promise, but Frankie can't seem to let himself be completely loved by Mary, as his past demons relating to his father's adultery and being dumped by Helen haunt him to the conclusion of the film, which includes a memorable ending that I will not spoil for anyone.

Overall, I liked the film, but I did have some problems with it. I thought it tried too hard to be artsy, relying on too obvious scenes of symbolism-such as Frankie's parents being covered by icicles as he sits and watches them in silence as a boy- and the use of still pictures to fill in the progression of the stories within the story like some sort of slide show. I also thought the movie could have done a better job of setting itself up for us: how old is Frankie? When is this taking place? What is the period of time involved? To me, these are simple things to set forth that help us to better identify with the characters or get into the story. Did Frankie meet Mary one week after his relationship with Helen ended, or five years? I'm not sure,  its not clear at all in the film. To me, this makes a difference in how I might empathize with him and understand his actions.

However, those complaints, while they took away from the film for me, do not ruin it completely and the acting of the three main characters more than carries the film above the average movie, and Jobson clearly has something to say, although I'm not sure at all that the title does the film justice, as this is really not a film about alcohol abuse, its there, but its just a symptom for Frankie, not a cause of his problems. To me, it's really about the inability, or unwillingness, to give and accept love and the consequences and effects of this.

Judging from excellent and in depth feature with Jobson and the actors in the special features of the DVD, I think that might have been one of the things the movie was trying to say. I would say that most who watch 16 Years will appreciate its seriousness, superb acting, and good cinematography in making us feel Edinburgh. The film has flaws and might be a little too pretentious for some, but I, for one, would definitely check out a Jobson film in the future.