There’s no getting around it: Stephen Frears is a great director. Sure he’s made some duds (MARY REILLY, THE HI-LO COUNTRY), but most of his work is a beautiful mix of thought-provoking material and pure entertainment value. Look at the list: MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE; PRICK UP YOUR EARS; DANGEROUS LIAISONS; THE GRIFTERS; THE SNAPPER; THE VAN; last year’s T.V. remake of FAIL SAFE; and most recently last year’s HIGH FIDELITY. He’s a quality British filmmaker who is not being afraid to tackle distinctly American themes (perhaps because they aren’t as distinctly American as one might think). His latest work is LIAM, about an Irish family in turmoil and the youngest child who sees his family disintegrating and turns to religion for his salvation. In some ways, LIAM mirrors many of the horrors of living in poverty that ANGELA’S ASHES showed us, but young Liam’s dealing with the Catholic church almost damage him beyond all hope. Newcomer Anthony Borrows might be the finest child actor I’ve encountered since Haley Joel Osmont, only this kid is younger and can express more in his face without so much as blinking. Liam also has a stutter that contorts his face so much that it looks as though his head will explode whenever he tries to speak.

The wonderful Ian Hart is Liam’s father, a factor worker who is laid off at the beginning of the film and finds it hard to find pick-up work at the docks because of his refusal to kiss up to the men who do the hiring. Claire Hackett is his wife who loves him for his passionate stubbornness as much as she hates him for not putting food on their table. Liam attends a Catholic school headed by the terrifyingly good Anne Reid as Mrs. Abernathy. She tells the children that their once-pure whites souls are now dirty with sin and must be washed in confession. Because of his stutter, Liam’s confession takes much longer, but he also believes some of the strife between his parents is his fault and the burden is almost more than he can stomach.

Also putting in an extraordinary performance in LIAM is Megan Burns as Liam’s older sister, who works as a housekeeper for a Jewish family. I believe the film is set in pre-WWII England, and during that time, the Irish not only resented the British for being in their country, but the Jews as well for owning most of the businesses that were shutting down and the pawn shops they had to sell their valuables to for even the slightest bit of money. When Megan’s father becomes a member of an anti-semitic group, a great deal of tension sets in between her and her employers, and it actually puts her life in a great deal of danger.

LIAM is so steeped in Irish politics and some of the accents are so thick, that it may turn off potential viewers, but it shouldn’t. The film is uncompromising and the filmmakers don’t make concessions in the climactic moments of the movie. You may even leave the film feeling worse than you walked in because LIAM ends on a deliberately sour note. Frears isn’t pulling punches here. We are left uncertain as to whether this family has the strength to endure. We hope for the best, but we fear the worst.

Capone (Click here to send me what's coming to me you bastards!)

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