Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.... (Full plot summary below)
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Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.
Leave your thoughts about The Butcher Boy.
| Time OutGeoff AndrewThough the movie sometimes looks as if the authentic Irish wit, colour and blarney has been filtered through the sensibility of a Buñuel or Polanski, Jordan never allows the surreal/expressionist aspects to dominate. |
| eFilmCritic.comRob GonsalvesA forceful and unforgettable ode to madness -- a horror film in the truest sense. |
| New York Magazine/VultureDavid DenbyI find myself in an embarrassing position: I think this is a great movie, but I'm not sure. |
| Filmcritic.comChristopher NullA discordant and murderously funny masterpiece of the highest order. |
| Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorDirector Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe adapted McCabe's novel for this bland 1998 shocker that fails miserably as satire, character study, and anything else it might have aspired to. |
| rec.arts.movies.reviewsDavid N. ButterworthYou can't take your eyes off Eamonn Owens or your ears off Stephen Rea (or, for that matter, either off Neil Jordan's entire film). |
| TheMovieReport.comMichael DequinaA twisted, unusual film that is bound to make just about anyone uncomfortable. |
| CompuserveHarvey S. KartenUsing Adrian Biddle's camera to capture both the lush splendor of the emerald isle and the claustrophobic confines of the rural village, Jordan makes insistent use of surrealist imagery to portray the fantasy life to which Francie increasingly turns. |
| Flick FilosopherMaryAnn JohansonThe Butcher Boy is an anti coming-of-age movie -- instead of the child adapting to the world, the child tries to adapt the world to suit him, with results that are sometimes funny, sometimes horrible, and sometimes both at the same time. |
| Spirituality and PracticeFrederic and Mary Ann BrussatA timely and riveting film about the deprivations, fantasies, and violence that can cause children to kill without regret. |
