The Butcher Boy

Everything I needed to know about the themes of The Butcher Boy I learned from the opening titles sequence of comic book panels featuring scenes of angry faces and destruction, the last of which fades into the story of a troubled Irish teenager named Francie Brady (newcomer Eamonn Owens) circa 1961-1962. Francie is the victim of a dysfunctional family--mentally ill mother, drunken father--but it's not just family strife which eventually turns him into a bullying, paranoid monster. Every possible external influence sends Francie retreating into a fantasy world of violence, particularly the pernicious influence of the media: radio broadcasts of Cold War rhetoric, horror movies, and, of course, comic books. There is a perverse fascination to watching Francie grow progressively more demented, but eventually it becomes clear that there's not much more to the story than that. Francie is observed by director Neil Jordan like a lab rat in a grand sociological experiment -- how much hate and violence can one boy absorb until he snaps? With the inexperienced young Owens spending much of his time mugging, yelling and gesticulating wildly, it's not always easy to take The Butcher Boy seriously. Then again, it's pretty clear that Jordan isn't interested in having us take it seriously, treating Francie's many traumas with more black-humored whimsy than consternation. Jordan's approach is consistently surprising, and strangely amusing enough to keep you watching. That, unfortunately, is about as far as he goes. As a comedy, it's a fairly original collection of sick chuckles. As a drama, it puts us through episodic paces without teaching us more than we learned from the first 90 seconds or so: keep your boys away from television and comic books unless you want them going crazy on you. A strong optional purchase. (S. Renshaw)[DVD Review—Feb. 6, 2007—Warner, 111 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1998's The Butcher Boy sports a great transfer and Dolby Digital stereo sound, with DVD extras including audio commentary by director/co-screenwriter Neil Jordan, three deleted scenes (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.]