New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

But the film has a poetic pulse, its ups and downs accompanied by some smartly chosen pop songs, a seductive original score and McKidd's husky voice-over narration.

Village Voice by Dennis Lim

16 Years' greatest asset may be its star: Trainspotting's McKidd, coiled and queasy, transcends the dubious romanticism and hard-man clichés of his role -- he exudes a commanding air of constancy in a film that teeters between the rapturous and the ridiculous.

Variety by Derek Elley

The highly directed film adopts a semi-impressionistic approach more European than British in flavor, aided by a terrific central performance by Kevin McKidd and painterly lensing by John Rhodes.

The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett

A full-flavored, absorbing tragedy.

Chicago Reader

Episodic and patchy, but well acted and heartfelt.

Chicago Reader by Meredith Brody

Episodic and patchy, but well acted and heartfelt.

San Francisco Chronicle by Ruthe Stein

A pretty ugly movie in its own right.

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

The pacing soon grows dull and the frequent narration is a nonstop string of clichés, platitudes, and truisms that should have been flung out the cutting-room window.

New York Post by Lou Lumenick

Despite reams of maudlin narration, McKidd's powerful performance as a conflicted man makes this beautifully shot low-budget feature worth checking out.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Overall, it's a seriously flawed but impressive and promising debut.

The New York Times by Janet Maslin

The tedium of this antidrinking hoodlum's tale inspires the wrong kind of longing entirely.