The Butcher Boy Movie Review 1997

Offbeat, black comedy takes a disturbing look into the madness of 12-year old Francie Brady (Owens) in Ireland in the 1960s. An alcoholic father and a mentally strained mother makes Francie escape into a world populated by voices in his head, comic books, and his one childhood friend. When his homelife becomes unbearable, Frankie's demons catapult him into a climatic and destructively criminal breakdown. Newcomer Owens is electrifying as the red-haired dynamo whose lost childhood turns him into a monster and Stephen Rea (a regular in any Jordan film) provides stern support as Francie's loser father and film's narrator. The rural Irish town is recreated with stunning detail, with light touches of kitsch that may put off some looking for a serious treatment of main character's plight. Still a daring movie, with pop star O'Connor as the Virgin Mary. Based on the novel by Peter McCabe.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS
Running time 105 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Director/Star Teams: Jordan & Rea, Childhood Visions, Family Drama, Ireland, On the Rocks, Religion, Bad Dads, Sanity Check, Psychotics/Sociopaths

Screenplay

Neil Jordan, Patrick McCabe

Cast

Eamon Owens, Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Sinead O'Connor, Aisling O'Sullivan, Alan Boyle, Ian Hart, Andrew Fullerton, Patrick McCabe, Sean McGinley, Brendan Gleeson, Milo O'Shea

Cinematography

Adrian Biddle

Director

Neil Jordan

Music

Elliot Goldenthal

Producer

Stephen Woolley, Redmond Morris, Geffen Film Company

Awards

L.A. Film Critics 1998: Score.