The Butcher Boy
[2.5/4.0]
The Cuban Missile Crisis is a looming threat, and so is Francie Brady. We see from the opening scene that Francie has done something bad, and the rest of the story is told in flashback. Francie's childhood, a mentally unstable mother and a drunk, often abusive father, is a recipe for disaster and there is no mystery about how he will turn out. His irrepressible personality is endearing as a small boy, but becomes menacing as he ages. As a boy, his wild imagination is normal. What child does not pretend to be a larger than life comic book hero fighting against the evil forces of a dastardly villain? Francie's problems begin when the heroes and villains of the imagination intermingle with the people in his real life, particularly as he perceives loyalty and betrayal in his friends.
This film has many similarities with the 1995 release "The Young Poisoner's Handbook" (which was a better film overall). As in that story, this film is an exploration of the mind of a troubled young person, and the development of a mentally disturbed criminal. There is no mystery in where Francie will end up, so the interesting theme of the narrative is how he gets there. Although the we know the symbolically present Cuban Missile Crisis will be resolved favorably, we also know that Francie's story has more grim results. The weakness of the film is the directionlessness in the first half. I missed large parts of the dialog due to the strong Irish accents (this is more of a shortcoming of my own rather than the film's) and as result I could not tell if the parts of the story that I could not follow were my fault or the film's. The second half of the film is stronger and is more understandable since it closes the narative and remains focused.
The young newcomer Eamonn Owens has the bulk of the screen time and gives an outstanding performance as Francie, and is able to give remarkable depth to the character. Although Francie is often a bit of a bully, he is still a charming boy with an irrepressible spirit. As time progresses we see fantasy imaginations of childhood turn into the symptoms of psychosis, perhaps schizophrenia.
Moderately Recommended. It can be difficult to follow because of the heavy Irish accents and vernacular, coupled with some of the surreal aspects of the presentation.
(c) 1999 Murali Krishnan The Art House Squatter http://pages.hotbot.com/movies/murali24/
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