LIAM is a child growing up in London during the great Depression of the '30s, attending a Catholic school where the fear of God dominates every utterance from his teacher and his priest, watching the intense family quarrels that erupt out of the poverty he witnesses when his father loses his job and is unable to get another one.
The religious aspects of the harsh Catholic teachings rings true in every scene and the behavior of the schoolboys in Liam's class is about as natural and real as you can ever expect to see on screen. In fact, the entire cast never misses a beat in being true to form, so moving are all the performances.
It's a dark tale, almost Dickensian in tone as it deals with the harsh realities of life in an impoverished family. It also deals with the class conflicts in the caste system, the animosity of the Irish father toward the Jews and the Fascists who seemed to be taking over the country, finally driving him to commit an act of desperation that backfires when his own daughter is horribly burned.
Well directed by Stephen Frears, the biggest handicap are the accents which I had to overcome by using the caption feature on my TV remote. Only then, did I catch every word spoken by the little boy, ANTHONY BORROWS, the solemn and earnest tyke who manages to steal every scene that he's in with his wide-eyed gaze and natural acting abilities. He's an amazing member of an excellent cast.
The religious aspects of the harsh Catholic teachings rings true in every scene and the behavior of the schoolboys in Liam's class is about as natural and real as you can ever expect to see on screen. In fact, the entire cast never misses a beat in being true to form, so moving are all the performances.
It's a dark tale, almost Dickensian in tone as it deals with the harsh realities of life in an impoverished family. It also deals with the class conflicts in the caste system, the animosity of the Irish father toward the Jews and the Fascists who seemed to be taking over the country, finally driving him to commit an act of desperation that backfires when his own daughter is horribly burned.
Well directed by Stephen Frears, the biggest handicap are the accents which I had to overcome by using the caption feature on my TV remote. Only then, did I catch every word spoken by the little boy, ANTHONY BORROWS, the solemn and earnest tyke who manages to steal every scene that he's in with his wide-eyed gaze and natural acting abilities. He's an amazing member of an excellent cast.