86
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanWith unsurprising irony, the "Sixteen" of the title foreshadows Liam's birthday and even worse calamity, which makes a grim and gripping story all the more heartbreaking.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottSweet Sixteen shows that he's (Loach) as capable of anger as his protagonist and just as eager to draw attention to an unchanging problem: the blight of generational poverty.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie's performances have a simplicity and accuracy that is always convincing. Compston, who plays Liam, is a local 17-year-old discovered in auditions at his school. He has never acted before, but is effortlessly natural.
- 88Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaIt's a beautiful, grim tale.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's an uncompromising movie that illustrates one of the most convincing personality transformations that I have seen in a recent motion picture.
- 83Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula NechakSeattle Post-IntelligencerPaula NechakA hard film to shake and makes us think and think again.
- 80Dallas ObserverBill GalloDallas ObserverBill GalloThere are no hearts and flowers in Loach's hard-edged world, no kindly interventions, no signs from heaven. Instead, he gives us the unvarnished facts about working-class exploitation and the failure of ambition in low places.
- 80L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorIt's not a happy film, but there's much incidental, quotidian happiness in it. Like Lynne Ramsay's lovely "Ratcatcher," the movie is far from sentimental about children.
- 75Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezWatching this essentially good but misguided kid slide into a hopeless future is both transfixing and heartbreaking.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittLoach has made more memorable films, such as "Raining Stones" and "Ladybird Ladybird," but his dramatic sense remains strong and his social conscience is absolutely unstoppable.