Cast: Ian Hart, Claire Hackett, Anthony Borrows, David Hart, Megan Burns
Director: Stephen Frears
Producers: Colin McKeown, Martin Tempia
Screenplay: Jimmy McGovern
Cinematography: Andrew Dunn
Music: John Murphy
U.S. Distributor: Lions Gate Films
The simply titled Liam is the latest effort from eclectic director Stephen Frears. Throughout a long and varied career, Frears has proven to be one of those few, rare filmmakers who feels comfortable and has success working on both sides of the Atlantic. While it's difficult to single out any of Frears' films as the crown jewel in his body of work, Liam deserves a place alongside the likes of My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick Up Your Ears, and Dangerous Liaisons near the pinnacle.
The film is set in depression era Liverpool, where jobs are hard to come by and the seemingly-omnipotent Catholic Church controls charity. Liam Sullivan (David Hart) is the school-age son of a proud father (Ian Hart) and a loving, determined mother (Claire Hackett). He also has an older brother and a sister, Theresa (Megan Burns), with whom he shares a close relationship. The story is presented mostly through the naïve eyes of young Liam, who represents our gateway into the streets of Liverpool. We see his father lose his job then struggle with his inability to find meaningful work. His mother pawns off clothing and jewelry to keep food on the table. And Theresa, who works as a maid in a Jewish household, becomes her family's sole provider, bringing home table scraps to go along with the coins she is paid. Meanwhile, unrest on the streets grows as anti-Semitic fascists clash with Communists. And Liam discovers the pervasive power of religion, as his pre-First Communion lessons convince him that, after seeing his mother naked, he is headed for hell.
There is nothing that Liam attempts that it fails to do well. At times deeply moving and at other times subversively funny, this film sheds new light on an era in the British Isles that has been the subject of several recent movies (including 1999's Angela's Ashes). Yet, because the tone here is so definitive and the characters are so fully developed, nothing about Liam comes across as derivative or familiar. These are unique individuals whom we quickly come to care about, and each new struggle becomes important to us. There are no cardboard cut-out villains; those who act badly or viciously do so out of understandable human emotions. The clash between Jews, Catholics, and Protestants is laid out on a personal level far more than on a lofty, ideological one.
If an impoverished , 1930s Liverpool is Liam's setting, the teachings of Catholicism function as its foundation. Frears does a better job than most directors of presenting the guilt and fear used by the Church to influence its members without demonizing the men and women who deliver the message. The film offers an honest representation of the teachings that are drummed into the hearts and minds of children: the stain of sin can only be wiped away by confession, failing to make a true confession is a sacrilege, and those who die without having their souls washed clean will burn forever in hellfire. The language of the priests and schoolteachers is persuasive; watching Liam, it's not difficult to understand the Church's power in a neighborhood where Catholicism is a way of life and where not attending Sunday mass will set tongues to wagging.
In bringing Liam to the screen, Frears has tackled a number of hefty subjects, but, in the process of exploring each of them, he never loses sight of his four primary characters. As the father and mother, Ian Hart and Claire Hackett give stirring performances. Megan Burns' Theresa is a conflicted mix of innocence and guilt; she is a girl on the brink of womanhood who has suddenly been thrust into a position of extreme responsibility, where not only does she provide her family's lone source of stable income, but she is entrusted with secrets that eat at her conscience. And, as the young, stuttering Liam, David Hart offers an unaffected portrayal.
Frears ends the film with a powerfully ironic, poignant turn of fate that illustrates how deeply the sword of hatred can cut. Liam is the kind of motion picture that leaves an impression. Its masterful depiction of time, place, and characters, and its willingness to tell a story unfettered by formulaic cliches makes it one of the year's better cinematic offerings.
© 2001 James Berardinelli