There's not a bad performance in the lot, but it is young Borrows who steals the heart away.
Comment
10/03/01
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Liam (2001)
70
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:53
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Though Liam's harrowing story is reminiscent of Angela's Ashes, it showcases strong performances, including one by child actor Anthony Borrows.
Theatrical Release:Sep 21, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: In the 1930s, Britain was between wars and on the verge of depression. Family homes were rented, pubs were smoke-filled dens and streetlights were minimal. For seven year old, Liam (Anthony... [More]
Starring: Anthony Burrows, Ian Hart, Anne Reid, Claire Hackett
Director: Stephen Frears
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Reviews for Liam
A grim little number that lacks the depth or complexity to justify its bleakness.
09/21/01
A sterling-silver ensemble and Stephen Frears' visually sensitive direction lift a familiar, but ultimately potent, 1930s portrait of a Liverpool family.
09/21/01
Top CriticComplex, heartbreaking, beautifully made.
09/21/01
Top CriticAdorable boys don't make movies watchable when there's this much badly handled melodrama mucking up the works.
09/21/01
Borrows delivers one of those remarkable, pre-adolescent performances that rises from a place so pure it's impossible to criticize.
09/21/01
Works overtime to snuff out any joy that might leaven the hard proceedings.
09/21/01
A dreary period drama in the Angela's Ashes school of misery.
09/21/01
Think Angela's Ashes, but less arty and not as good.
09/21/01
The child himself is never strong enough as an individual presence to anchor the story.
09/21/01
Top CriticA little gem with a highly disturbing scene.
09/21/01
Top CriticAn emotionally devastating chronicle of the disintegration of a family.
09/20/01
Top CriticConforms to the director's pattern of following a solid hit with a dodgy miss.
09/20/01
A truly humorless film. It quickly becomes tiresome and the ending is useless.
09/20/01
Its warning of how religious intolerance can fester into hatred is one to be heeded more than ever.
09/20/01
Top Critic
At times deeply moving and at other times subversively funny.
09/19/01
Top Critic[Frears] limits the film by filtering it through a child's consciousness.
09/19/01
Top CriticThough the threads seem to weave skillfully, the resulting tapestry is coarse, abrasively contrasting the comfort of the picture on the screen.
09/17/01
its flaws and release behind a similar, higher profile work place it in the minor leagues
09/10/01
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