CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies.

VIOLENCE, ALCOHOL and hopelessness played out amongst Edinburgh’s grim closes and stony stairs. Tough subject matter from first time writer-director Richard Jobson, unsweetened in the making. Sixteen Years of Alcohol may be interesting to Scottish film-makers and Edinburgh inhabitants, who can take turns at spotting false moves and landmarks, but will struggle to engage a broader audience.
  
Kevin McKidd plays Frankie, a man who lives in the shadow of his past. Raised by an alcoholic and philandering father, Frankie grows up to mix drink with violence, running a small gang of thugs in his 20s. Then he meets Helen (Laura Fraser), and tries to go straight. Inevitably falling off the wagon, he is offered a second chance at salvation with an AA beauty (Susan Lynch). But with the presence of his ex-gang on the sidelines of his new, clean life, guess which direction things are headed.
  
The film starts with an extended flashback to Frankie’s childhood but this excerpt lacks pace and Jobson needlessly experiments with some surreal moments to emphasise the child’s perspective. The style experiment continues when we cut to the 1980s, heavy-booted silhouettes dancing in an underpass. Frankie has become a Madness-punk, alternately holed up in a room in front of a mirror in scenes reminiscent of Taxi Driver, or out on the town with friends who put the theatre into bad-boy antics.
  
Edinburgh takes a lead role in the film. Arthur’s Seat. Carlton Hill, The Edinburgh College of Art, Potterow, Avalanche Records, Dirty Dicks ….the film felt like someone was name-checking the places of my student days. (But note the complete absence of background chat in any of the locations, despite the conspicuous extras.)
 
Jumping from one breaking point to another with each location and wilfully sidelining the good times, Jobson has made this film heavy-going though undoubtedly sincere. An intrusive and persistent voice-over, clumsy performances and uninspired dialogue complete the picture. It will be interesting to see how much this feature debut has taught Jobson when his second film, The Purifiers, screens at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
  
SIXTEEN YEARS OF ALCOHOL
Selected cinemas.

Director: Richard Jobson
Writer: Richard Jobson
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Laura Fraser, Kevin McKidd, Ewen Bremner
Certificate: 18
Running Time: 102
Country: UK
Year: 2003
 

© Catriona Paul, 2004