THE BUTCHER BOY comically chronicles a young boy's descent into madness. The boy provides a voice-over from the present to tell the story of his youth in an Irish village in the early 60s. His father's a violent drunk, and his mother is already insane, so it's not difficult to explain why the kid is losing his mind. It's just that he really doesn't know he's going crazy. He believes he's leading a perfectly normal life as we watch in horror as his actions grow more violent and frightening. And it's a comedy!

Neil Jordan is a craftsman and creates a very enjoyable movie even given the very dark subject matter. The child actor's are great, the best I've seen this side of PONETTE. If the subject and its treatment don't put you off you will like this movie. If not, try something else.

I went to my local video store last night and walked straight to its awesome horror section. I was specifically looking for this movie, as i had seen it in the store before, and was about to see it until my friend decided that we'd walk out with Joy Ride. The cover of this movie intrigued me, and lead me to think that it would be a darkly comeidic yet still very scary story about a boy's descent into madness.

The Butcher Boy is about an Irish boy, Francie, whose domestic life is miserable. His dad is always drunk and his mother is mentally unstable. However, he lets his anger out through his mischevous behavior in the town, particularly directed towards Mrs Nugent and her son, a perfect mother with a perfect son. Francie is also best friends with Joe, a sensitive kid of whom we get the impression from that he is losing interest in Francie's treatings of others, which are going a bit too far.

A lot more happens in The Butcher Boy, but if you don't like what you just got, don't see the movie. Though it's not slow, Francie's character development seems to drag, and Neil Jordan seems to advance his personality just before we've had enough.

The acting is what makes the movie what it is. Somebody call Eamonn Owens and give this kid a part in a movie. He owns the movie, he is the movie. Words cannot describe how good th' young laddie is at acting as the troubled Francie. This has to be one of my favorite acting performances of all time, right up there with Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore, and Kiefer Sutherland in Stand By Me. This kid needs a good role badly. Everybody else is decent, though i feel that Stephen Rea as Francie's father underplayed the role, and could've added more depth to the character. The character seemed to be waiting to become lively and three dimensional, but Rea went for the B minus and stopped there.

The butcher boy was not what I expected, and if you're looking for a horror movie about madness, look elsewhere. If you want a dramatic character study with a child actor better than a million Haley Joel Osments, this is for you. It is thought provoking, upsetting, and doesn't beg for it at all. How many movies can you say that about?

I'd be lying if I claimed that the original reason I saw this wasn't anything as simple and basic as curiosity... the plot simply sounds so bizarre that one can't help but wonder about the movie itself. The movie is a wonderful mix of surrealism, drama and black comedy. As another reviewer points out, the accents may make the dialog a little hard to make out... I was fortunate enough to have subtitles(as any Dane will tell you, we get subtitles on everything that is presented to us on a screen), but I think most anyone who has a good enough grasp on the English language(and a good ear wouldn't hurt) will be able to understand, at the very least, enough of it to follow what's going on. The film is quite disturbing... it's told by a psychotic, and everything is seen from his point of view, making the line between truth and fantasy blur. The narrative is impressive, underplaying some scenes to great effect. The plot is interesting. The pacing is a tad uneven... while most of the film moves as it should, not too fast nor too slow, there are parts where it seems to come to a complete halt. Luckily, these parts are few and far between. The characters are well-written and credible. They are also all competently portrayed. The acting... wow. What can I say? Eamonn Owens is nothing short of an artist. As you watch the film(which I hope you will), observe his eyes... look into them, as he looks around menacingly, and tell me that you don't feel fear. Pure fear. One is reminded of Donald Pleasence's marvelous monologue about Michael Myers' eyes(in Halloween, for the uninitiated). That stare... if I ever met Owens in real life, I doubt I'd dare look him in the eye. Even more impressively, this was his debut performance. I'll have to watch more of his movies, to see if he can pull off other roles as well, but he certainly nailed this one. Stephen Rea was great... I've seen him in nothing else, but I could recognize his face from the trailers for V for Vendetta, a movie I'm looking forward to(even more now that I know he will grace the film with what is sure to be just as astounding a performance as he gave here), even though I'm sure it won't live up to Alan Moore's graphic novel. Sinéad O'Connor was a blast(and seemed to be having one, as well) as Our Lady. I haven't been able to find out who portrayed the main character as an adult, but let me tell you, his voice acting is grand. The narration definitely adds to the film, both in use and in acting. The writing is great. The whole film is highly entertaining and very poignant. This should be seen by just about anyone who can live with(and more importantly, understand) the language and take the disturbing nature of the film. I recommend this to anyone who is afraid of neither accents nor the disturbing images contained herein. Very funny and quite unsettling. 8/10

Just caught this movie on cable; I hadn't heard of it before.

It is a brilliant film; black comedy of the blackest sort. What is truly amazing is the acting ability of lead Eamonn Owens; in my mind the finest performance of a kid his age that I've ever seen.

The sardonic humor of this film, the way it treats such horrible things as lightly as it does, the acting, the script, the quaint narrative devices, and sense of menace cloaked in charming small town Irish life make this a thoroughly original and engaging character study.

Sinead O'Connor is a scream as the Virgin Mary.

The thick accents in this film make it a little bit difficult to follow in parts, but American audiences should still be able to understand most of the dialogue.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough; it is proof that you can still make a quality movie without buying into cheap Hollywood cliches.

I don't understand how this movie is so unknown by most of the people.

Simply put, this is an amazing film. Eamonn Owens' performance is just unbelievable.

There are some serious and sensitives themes in this movie (murder, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, child abuse, religion) however it's not a disturbing movie (it has its moments though). The reason for the lack of disturbance in this film is because we're seeing everything from the perspective of a little boy.

The Butcher Boy is, for sure, one of the best dark comedies/dramas that I've seen. Highly recommendable.

The movie is basically about growing up under tough circumstance, which is not without its emotional scars and eventually leads up to only more tragedy. It makes the movie sound like such a downer but the movie actually has a sort of light and pleasant atmosphere to it, that is hard to describe or compare to anything else but bottom-line is that it works out well and makes the movie a still mostly pleasant one.

Not that the movie is always easy to watch though. It's still being a bit of a difficult movie to follow at times but it never goes overboard with anything. The movie just takes a too light and simplistic approach for that, which is all something positive in this case.

I didn't really expected this but it really is a movie that is all about its young characters. All of the adults are truly being secondary characters in this and I would say that Eamonn Owens is on the screen for about 95% of the time, if not an 100% but just don't pin me on that. And I quite like movies that are entirely being told from the viewpoint of a young kid. I don't know, it's always easy to somewhat identify with I guess, since everybody used to be a young kid at one point.

You also could say that it's a movie about the loss of innocence. Due to circumstance the young characters in this movie have to mature very fast, while they still have the needs and minds of a young child in them. This leads to some pretty surprising developments at times.

Thing that this movie mostly has going for it is its originality. It's being original with its story but even more so with its approach. It also was the right approach to take in my opinion, since this movie would had been an incredible dry and heavy one had it been done as a completely serious drama.

Definitely watchable but I should still say that this movie most definitely won't be everybody's cup of tea.

7/10

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During the 1960's people were fearful of losing their world. What with the Cuban Missle Crises and the threat of Nuclear Winter, it's little wonder many hid in prayerful disillusion. For two young Irish boys, something loomed closer. Their lives encompassed their town, their family and their friendship. The first is Joe Purcell (Alan Boyle) a typical Irish boy out to enjoy his youth. The second is his best and closest friend named Francis Brady (Eamonn Owens) who becomes the unlikely hero in the movie, "The Butcher Boy." To Joe, friendship is a temporary bond which enhances life with laughter, pranks and boyhood imagination. But to Francis Brady, friendship is permanent and indelible which nothing on the planet, including Atomic fire, can separate. Enter, the boy's Nemesis, the town gossip and constant irritation to their bond. Mrs. Nugent, (Fiona Shaw) sees the boys as lowly delinquents, petty trouble makers, vicious bullies and future criminals. During the escalating conflict, the audience watches as Francis loses many of the people he loves. Eventually, Mrs. Nugent causes him to lose his best friend. Vengefully, Francis marks her for ultimate punishment. Audiences must decided the boy's reason for his erratic behavior. Was it his drunken father's (Stephen Rea) physical abuse, his mother's suicidal tendencies, incarceration at reform school, becoming a victim of sexual abuse by Father Sullivan (Milo O'Shea), subsequent shock treatments, increasing mental delusions of space aliens or iconic religious figures. It's little wonder Francsis commits the ultimate act of revenge. This is an honest, straight forward movie, which depicts the inner workings of a fragile but psychotic boy in crises. Many people allow maturity to transform them into adults, but some refuse, paying the inevitable price for doing so. ****

After reading the book, I was curious to see what Neil Jordan made of it. First: the book tells a gripping tragedy, a boy is going down under thanks to the adults around him. Mrs Nugent comes first, then the priest in the reformatory. The red line in the story is the word PIGS, first used by Nugent, against the boy and his family. That is the onset of his brutal behavior. From now on he will be a PIG. Still, he trusts his friend, the priests in the reformatory and will only see his trust badly abused, which aggravates his behavior and makes him furiously rebellious. The mothers suicide and the death of his father are achieving him as a deeply disturbed, psychotic boy. Neil Jordan has turned a tragedy into comedy, without any regards for the psychological drama. Sure the book, because of his psychological depth, might be very difficult to turn into a script. I see that most of the reviewers didn't read the book and could not compare. If I give a 6 out of ten, is to the benefit of the actors, nor to Neil Jordan's film. Jordan has disappointed me.

Francie Brady is terribly wounded in the hospital. The movie flashes back. Francie and Joe play together. Francie's father (Stephen Rea) is a violent drunk. His mother is suicidal and is taken away. Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw) doesn't like him and he doesn't like her. Francie's mom returns in a manic state. Uncle Alo (Ian Hart) comes by for a Christmas visit. After his mother's death, Francie starts bullying little Phillip Nugent and Mrs. Nugent.

The kid is a hateful brat and I can't stand him. I can't stand most of the characters in this movie. I want to beat some sense into the boy or quite frankly anybody. The adults are mostly clueless idiots or drunks. I don't see any of this as charming but Neil Jordan seems intend on making this quirky. The music, the narration, and the whole tone is way too light. The tone needs to be darken to match the subject. I kept wondering if Neil Jordan thinks any of this is actually funny and why? This could have been great material for a super-dark super-violent drama.

I've seen this one a few times over the years and it's never lost its impact in all this time. precocious protagonist Eammon Owens is amazing in the lead; his turn is a tour de force that keeps you riveted throughout the twisted tale. his small town Irish environment, the broken family around him and the unease caused by the threat of Cold War in the wider world all conspire to turn what are initially innocent childish shenanigans into something altogether deeper and darker. Owens' initial mischievous skirmishes with the locals introduce us to some interesting characters and although Owens himself comes across as a bit of a bully it's nice to see him enjoying youthful friendships and playing in the picturesque surroundings of his town. early on though it does become apparent that things are not quite right, firstly with his manic mother, then with his alcoholic father and lastly with Owens himself whose mind begins to unravel as we head towards the pitch black climax. the film is full of crazy episodes that veer from gleeful play to more disturbing moments and much in between. the supporting cast are great as well with excellent turns from Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Brendan Gleeson and an ace and unusual cameo from Sinéad O'Connor. Owens carries the film however and as i said his turn is amazing and keeps you glued in awe throughout. never a dull moment to be had, full of fascinatingly foul-mouthed dialogue, plenty of shards of wickedly black humour and a twisted tale that spirals from bucolic light to some very dark places... excellent stuff!

First, Eamon Owens is absolutely incredible playing a child slipping into insanity. Francie's insanity seemed fluid and real, and Owens' acting was, IMO, the best part of the movie. Unfortunately, it was also the only good part about this movie.

Here's the plot. Basically, you have a kid, Francie, who's father is a drunk and whose mother is depressed. He hangs around with his friend Joe doing things that little kids do, including bullying another kid Plillip. Things start to happen in Francie's life and child mischief turns darker and darker.

Okay, fine, great idea, but you also get a sense that the kid is evil to begin with. He seems to be conscious of what he's doing. A tagline for this movie was "innocence undone", but I don't think Francie was that innocent at all. The movie never made a connection between what happened to his parents and Francie's behavior. One could argue that the connection's obvious, but I think that's an insult to anyone coming from a less than a "Leave it to Beaver"-like family. His father loved him despite, his mother loved him despite, and he was incorrigible, despite.

I also don't think this deserves a black comedy label. For me, a black comedy is not just laughing at something unplesant, but laughing directly at that unpleasant action. Francie does some horrible stuff, but says something funny. That's not black comedy. That's throwing a joke into an unplesant scene. If you want black comedy, few movies are better than "Man Bites Dog"

Unfortunately, this movie followed a formula that got repetitive: kid does something bad. Kid says something funny. Something bad happens. optional Kodak moment where kid drops down another level. Wash, rinse, repeat.

6/10 -- original, yes, but in this case, no points for originality.

Intended or not this little drama passes for dark comedy. Some scenes are very disturbing and savage. I don't recommend for very young children. A troubled Irish lad(Eamonn Owens)develops a cruel streak that manifests itself in increasingly morbid fashion. Also in the cast are:Allan Boyle, Peter Gowen and Sinead O'Connor plays the Virgin Mary. Lord have mercy!

The Butcher Boy is exuberant, funny and horrific. It's passionate and inventive and unforgettable. The Butcher Boy was directed by Irishman Neil Jordan who's previous films are impressive. They include The Crying Game, Mona Lisa, Interview With A Vampire, and Michael Collins.

The Butcher Boy is based on a novel by Patrick McCabe who also co-wrote the screen play. I'm very pleased to relate that The Butcher Boy isn't based on a true story!!! I sure hope it isn't anyway.

The Butcher Boy is about a lad who commits a horrific murder in a rural Irish town. But the film certainly isn't solemn. Jordan has enlivened an essentially gory tale with a touch of inventive, sometimes humorous magic realism (a bewigged Sinead O'Connor plays The Virgin Mary). Jordan is also blessed by having available a wonderfully gifted leading actor.

Fifteen year old Eamonn Owens, a schoolboy in real life from near where The Butcher Boy was shot, plays 12 year old Francie Brady. Francie finds himself betrayed. His dad (Stephen Rea) is a drunk, his Ma (Aisling O'Sullivan) is suicidal. His best friend lets him down. The township and it's institutions aren't supportive. He eventually takes his revenge.

The boy also has visions. We could say he's imaginative as children should be, but this boy is cheerfully violent as well. The Butcher Boy doesn't discuss cause and effect at all, but such is the power of the film, most viewers will wonder how such a thing could happen. Was Francie schizophrenic? Was he a psychopath. If he had had a stable loving family what might have happened?

Regardless, Eamonn Owens is just terrific as the cheerful, energetic, often very funny Francie Brady. This red headed bundle of uninhibited, unselfconscious energy has created a very memorable screen character indeed. Neil Jordan must have been tickled pink to have such a lead for his film.

Leading English stage actress Fiona Shaw plays the prissy Mrs Nugent and Irish stalwart, Milo (the eyebrows) O'Shea plays a meddlesome priest. Stephen Rea fans won't find much to celebrate since Rea doesn't do much more than look drunk, sit, and kick in a television, but that's because The Butcher Boy quite rightly revolves around the wonderful, funny and bloody Eamonn Owens. See The Butcher Boy if you can.

I loved two aspects of this film. One was the incredible performance of Eamonn Owens as the butcher boy. He is absolutely real and believable as the disturbed protagonist in the parts that demanded it.

The other aspect is the send up of all those happy Irish films - from "The Quiet Man" to "The Commitments" to "Waking Ned Devine". The ironic combination of these myths with gritty and nasty reality produces a surreal, disturbing yet funny black comedy.

Unfortunately, the allegory and the reality don't mix as well as it might have. I kept on thinking that in real life, the butcher boy would have had the s***e beat out of him - many times over (not that it would have mattered). And even though I knew that he was not meant to be absolutely real - (somewhat like the boy in "The Tin Drum") this felt really forced since it detracted from the realistic aspects of the film where it really excelled.

However, overall, an excellent and different film which is well worth watching.

I would have thought this movie to be unique if I had not seen Reflective Skin earlier. THis is a walk inside an insane Irish kid's mind who started off mildly bent and then was tortured into insanity by his wretched surroundings. Reflective Skin, with acting that is not as sharp but a far superior script is the better movie on this topic.

If you are sick and tired of all the beige Irish films that suburban sheeple with 1/8th Irish in them watch to feel more Irish watch this flick- it is the direct opposite of the tepid Irish comedy that has been shoved down our throats ever since "The Commitments" was a hit.

This movie focuses on a red headed Irish lad and his exploits in a small Irish town as his small world slowly falls apart. I found the script to be daft but the acting brilliant.

The boy get's the name "Butcher Boy" because he works at a butcher's on occasion- not because of any horror element.

Another Neil Jordan beautifully made film, with splendid actors, especially good with the young boy, Eamonn Owens and wonderful music. Certainly for the first forty minutes it is well done of the boys and especially told of the dysfunctional family and the way that Owens retreats into his fantasy with his TV, aliens, communists and the Atomic Age. Although as the film still goes on I'm not really enjoying the 'black humour'. The boy is really good and went on with The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and Breakfast on Plato (2005). Jordan had a good time with, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) and Michael Collins (1996) and this one many like it with an award in Berlin but I really wasn't too happy.

I found "Butcher Boy" at a mom & pop video store, had never heard of it before, but it is by Neil Jordan, the director of "The Crying Game." Found it hilarious that Sinead O'Connor was playing the Virgin Mary in the hallucinations of Francie Brady, the young Irish rogue who plays the lead role, especially after she must be hated by many Roman Catholics -- so I rented it. It's a great movie! You find yourself sympathizing with a boy who likely has insanity running in his family -- as his mother is mad (and his father is the town drunk). The movie takes place during the communist scare and cheesy sci-fi movie late 1950s, and Francie blends the two into his imaginary world. A wonderfully made film with a humorous edge that works as Francie gets madder and madder, and to himself, (as he narrates) goes about as if he is the only sane person in town. The only shortcoming is that it takes a while to understand the thick Irish accents of the characters. I put this up there with "City of Lost Children" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" as my favorites.

My wife thought it was the most stupid thing she ever say but she gets into more serious dramas and not the artsy flix. I liked it though I thought the dialog was a little hard to understand because of the accents and all.

This dark comedy perhaps works for others, but I found it deeply unsatisfying. Despite a strong cast and a very weird plot, The Butcher Boy fails for me. The kid is irritating and nauseating throughout. Mischievous he may be, but there is little cause for all his insolence and intransigence. Little is explained in the movie to justify his actions. To make it worse, he seems to be able to find absolution from the apparitions of Mother Mary he gets. Worse still -- she apparently condones his pranks. Huh? Maybe I'm too dense to understand the satirical meaning here, but is Neil Jordan exorcizing some perverse pleasure here to make a point on the rigidness of society? Or something similar? Sorry, I'm still trying to understand the point of the whole movie.

While Neil Jordan is one of the best directors today, I just couldn't make out the point of this film. Was this supposed to be a twisted coming of age tale? The story just didn't gel for me. I'm dumbfounded. I was quite disappointed after other Jordan efforts, such as: The Boxer, The Crying Game, and In the Name of the Father.

I caught this movie, The Butcher Boy, from early on and was amused, then terribly sad. It is a very tragic movie, it definitely has a liberal message movie though. Sinead O'Connor playing the Virgin Mary should be your first clue, it also features a pedophile Priest, so you begin to see the biases that are involved here (it's a Liberal movie designed to tear down all traditional values). The other hidden message is that the State is the boys sole salvation, not the Church. Obvious references to Communism from the boy's thinking its a bad thing (so as to say it's really good if an insane boy thinks it's bad), support my view. While it was very moving to watch, it's really a movie to tear down traditional values and support a Liberal agenda of the State being your true savior, think about it.