Clevercell Very disappointing...

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Armand great performance. smart script. wise manner to direct. and an extraordinary Eamonn Owens. Irish poor family is subject of few interesting films. so, The Butcher Boy is not original. only different because it explores childhood in a fascinating, realistic manner. lead character is a victim. but one who makes his personal definitions about life and world. for many people, imagination is an escape/refuge. for young Francie, it is a gun who transforms him in version of legendary Oskar Matzerath. an Oskar who has as drum only his life. his glasses is more fragile than a window. his revolt seems be crumbs from knights stories. his sensitivity is touching. a man under society pressure. or, maybe, only a parable about existence and fight against its traps.

savethebeaver I'm not sure how or why or where I heard of this film, and even less sure what prompted me to buy it. I remember being slightly intrigued by the prospect of a (very) dark comedy about a young boy's dramatic life and loss of innocence, but it still stayed on my "to-watch-list" for a very long time. The simple fact is that this film seems to be largely forgotten and ignored, which, as I discovered when I finally watched it, is a real shame. It's the story of Francie, a boy with a depressed mother and alcoholic father, who escapes to fantasy worlds to deal with the real one. One by one the things that are keeping him somewhat sane are taken from him and as they are, he lashes out ever more drastically and violently. All this is set to the background of the Cuban missile crisis, which also enters the story in the last act. What sets the film apart from other such efforts are two things: amazing actors, especially newcomer Eamonn Owens, who plays Francie, that manage to make the story come alive, and a tenderness in the telling of the horrific tale that makes it both bearable to watch and yet drives home the horrible situation even more. This film is not for everyone and there are also many flaws, but it managed to draw me in and fascinate me as few films have done before. If you can manage to get your hands on it, I highly recommend it.

Lee Eisenberg Neil Jordan directed one of the most twisted -- and cleverest -- movies in "The Butcher Boy". It focuses on a disturbed boy (Eamonn Owens) in an Irish village in the early '60s. A combination of his broken home and the threat of nuclear war push the little guy into complete insanity. Seriously, you aren't prepared for some of what this tyke does! Of course, the audience understands that the kid is merely a product of his environment, and so his actions -- no matter how jaw-dropping -- aren't really his fault. But the movie never moralizes. Jordan lets the movie be all that it can be, and the result is amazing. Watching the movie, I got the feeling that they had a lot of fun making it, with the understanding that it's got a pretty serious subject matter.Anyway, definitely worth your time. Also starring Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter movies), Aisling O'Sullivan, Seán McGinley, Ian Hart (Prof. Quirrell in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"), Brendan Gleeson (Mad-eye Moody in the Harry Potter movies), Milo O'Shea (Friar Laurence in Franco Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet"), and Sinéad O'Connor.

sackboy-3 The movie was just okay...however I was a little disturbed about another comment made. The film, is set, and filmed in Ireland...not Scotland dummy. Do a little research so you don't sound stupid...too late. And you use the word "ledgible"? I HEAR movies not read them, and it is not even spelled correctly (legible). The Irish may have a heavy accent but, at least they can use the English language correctly, unlike you. A lot of the actors, were great in other movies I have seen, but were fairly bland here. This film is not his greatest, but then again, its not even close to the worst film I have ever seen. I wouldn't expect a person who has time to watch marathons of movies to understand, nor would I expect a Scorsese fan to get it.