The Butcher Boy Review
by James Sanford (jamessanford AT earthlink DOT net)May 12th, 2000
``The Butcher Boy,'' adapted by director Neil Jordan and author Patrick McCabe from McCabe's novel of the same name, probes the mind of young Irishman Francie Brady, a free-spirited kid whose initially harmless mischief takes on an increasingly violent and finally murderous bent as his surroundings grow darker and darker. Tales of troubled youth are easy to come by these days - unfortunately this week you need look no further than the front page of the newspaper - but Jordan doesn't handle this unsettling subject matter in a traditional, cautionary way.
Instead, he uses Francie's story as the launching pad for a sometimes surrealistic portrait of working-class Irish life in the early 1960s. ``The Butcher Boy'' is a wildly uneven work, veering from broad gross-out comedy to subtle observation, but its anchor is Eamonn Owens' fascinating performance as young Francie. In looking for his lead actor, Jordan has said he wanted to find a young James Cagney. His search proved successful.
As Francie's disillusioned alcoholic father, Stephen Rea (a staple in most of Jordan's films) is quietly sensational, and so is Aisling O'Sullivan in her brief appearance as his deeply depressed wife.
His Da's deterioration and mother's suicide are two of the circumstances that put Francie on the road to trouble, but the chief culprit is the pretentious Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw). She's a classier-than-thou type whose feud with Francie escalates into startling physical violence. Jordan and McCabe aren't wholly sympathetic to either party, but Mrs. Nugent's rampant Anglophilia causes the Irish-born authors to paint her in a less flattering light than she may deserve.
Although it would appear that McCabe had in mind to write a coming-of-age story, many of Francie's trials play out in an overly familiar fashion, complete with faithless friends, workhouses not too far removed from Dickens and priests who prove to be anything but celibate. The filmmakers chronicle Francie's journey in a stream of colorful, dreamy visuals, and too often ``Butcher Boy'' engages the eye rather than the heart.
Still, Jordan has never made a wholly uninteresting film - even ``High Spirits,'' his misquided romp with Daryl Hannah desperately trying to play an Emerald Isle ghost, has a certain curiosity value - and there's just enough in ``Butcher Boy'' to make it worthwhile. Besides, any filmmaker daring enough to cast controversial singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor as a foul-mouthed version of the Virgin Mary deserves credit for pure chutzpah.
James Sanford
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
