'The Butcher Boy': Homicidal Comedy

May 4, 1998

Where do they find these kids? That's all I want to know. 12 year-old Eamonn Owens in his first acting role is truly a funny, frightening revelation in Neil Jordan's new film, The Butcher Boy. No fooling, this kid gives the single best performance by a child actor that I have ever seen - even better than Anna Pacquin in The Piano. His performance is simultaneously hilarious and shocking, and better than most of the adult performances I've seen in recent years.

Eamonn Owens plays Francie Brady, the only child of Benny (Stephen Rea) and Annie Brady (Aisling O'Sullivan) in 1962 Ireland. The world is experiencing the Cuban missile crisis, and fear and fascination with the atomic bomb run high. Benny is a musician by trade but an alcoholic wife-abuser at home. Annie is a fragile, helpless soul who pops pills and suffers fits of manic and suicidal behavior. The Brady's troubles are generally pitied and reviled in the neighborhood. With a home life like Francie's, a young lad must have a rich fantasy life to survive.

Francie has a rich fantasy life. He has an intrepid alter ego named Algernon Carruthers, who lights out to Dublin when Christmas becomes horrible at the Brady house. He is a fan of Dr. Richard Kimble's. Francie sees many adults as overgrown bugs (a la The Fly), and imagines an atomic bomb detonated in his town.
Francie is also a charmer. He can dish out the Irish blarney like nobody. He charms the ladies at the local market, and the local priest. However, Francie is a very angry boy. He's obsessed with tormenting the nerdy Philip Nugent, whose mother, Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw), puts on airs because she lived in England. Mrs. Nugent thinks the Brady's are pigs and tells Francie so - often.

After Francie pushes the Nugents one step too far, he is sent to a Catholic school for boys, where he is at first encouraged and then exploited. While at school, the Virgin Mary (Sinead O'Connor) appears to Francie and gives him advice. Francie is obsessed with the notion that his nemesis Philip Nugent has stolen his best friend, Joe, in his absence(and that the nefarious Mrs. Nugent is behind the friend-stealing). When Francie returns home to find his worst fears realized, he explodes like the atomic bombs he fantasizes about.

The Butcher Boy is essentially the study of the making of a psychopath. I desperately wanted to like and sympathize with Francie (because he's so cute and charming), but he's often nothing more than a thug. The adults in his town don't act much better. No one helps the Bradys in their time of grievous need, not even members of their own family. No one endeavors to help or understand Francie, despite his outrageous behavior. They are only too willing to attribute full responsibility for his actions to Francie, without any thought to the fact that he is a child enduring a series of disastrous events. Adults even set other adults to beat Francie after one of his more innocuous rampages.

Despite its savagery, the movie is most disturbing because of its comic elements. Francie, even when being menacing and violent, engages in a never-ending stream of comic patter, wisecracks and bonhomie (negating the reality of his actions). The movie is narrated incongruously in a flippant manner by the adult Francie (also played by Stephen Rea). Some of the most disturbing scenes are filmed as slapstick. For example, I was horrified at myself for laughing aloud during a scene where two village boys, set up by Francie, make a particularly gruesome discovery. The film challenges the audience's sensibilities and is unforgettable.

Technically, like all Neil Jordan films, The Butcher Boy is top-notch. The acting, again especially by Eamonn Owens, is terrific. The direction is sharp and quick. The script is amazing (written by Neil Jordan and the author of the novel The Butcher Boy, Patrick McCabe).

I highly recommend The Butcher Boy, but look out - it will shake you up and stay with you for awhile.

Mary Walsh
My husband, Erik, and I are recent transplants from New England. We live in Longwood with our two cats, Ellie (from Damiel, the angel in the German film Wings of Desire) and Phineas, otherwise known as Blackie (which describes both his fur and his soul). Being childless, by choice, these are our substitutes, and we never miss a chance to discuss them as such, much to the annoyance of our friends with children. We lead very exciting lives, something like jet-setters, except that we rarely travel, don't go out much and both prefer to read or watch films (although Erik also likes professional wrestling, which he continually refers to as our country's second great art form, after jazz).