16 Years Of Alcohol

Through his father's romanticizing over life in a bottle, young Frankie gets sucked into a world of Edinburgh kitsch-gang violence, drinking and getting around. What seems to be a mellow dream, sprung from heroes of A Clockwork Orange, escalates into abuse and bad memories. As he tries to find a way out, his bad sides won't let go that easily.
Richard Jobson's directorial debut deals partly with his own past. He uses classic methods to tell his story, though well aware ofthe origins of his influences. The poetic voiceover isn't far from. Kubrick's Molokov-bit Alex-character, but forthose who seek a new Orange, this is not it. 16 Years of Alcohol is chained to reality, not dystopic futurism or dealing
with criminals, which is more of an undertone if anything.
Jobson seeks to underline what went wrong in Frankie's upbringing, and what can still be put right. The film doesn't really point out who's to blame, because in a 'boring everyday life like Frankie's, imagination, take care ofthat.lt shows a path of easy action and rough consequence, but isn't trying to hide the fact that both the safe and loose sides have their ups and downs. Frankie's constant stru'ggle between trying to build a better life and falling back into the void is presented in skilled voice, images and sound, seeking to catch the audience through the eyes ofthe narrator.
KASPER SPERBER