The Butcher Boy (1997 film)
| The Butcher Boy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Neil Jordan |
| Screenplay by | Patrick McCabe Neil Jordan |
| Produced by | Redmond Morris Stephen Woolley |
| Starring | Stephen Rea Fiona Shaw introducing Eamonn Owens |
| Cinematography | Adrian Biddle |
| Edited by | Tony Lawson |
| Music by | Elliot Goldenthal |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Countries | Ireland United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,963,654[1] |
The Butcher Boy is an 1997 Irish tragicomic drama film adapted to film by Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe from McCabe's 1992 novel of the same name.[2]
Set in the early 1960s, The Butcher Boy is about Francis Brady (Eamonn Owens), a 12-year-old boy who retreats into a violent fantasy world to escape the reality of his dysfunctional family; as his circumstances worsen, his sanity deteriorates and he begins acting out, with increasing brutality. The film won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival in 1998 and a Special Mention for Owens' "astonishing lead". It also won the European Film Award for Best Cinematographer for Adrian Biddle. The Butcher Boy is Neil Jordan's tenth feature film and Geffen Pictures' final production.
Plot
The film is set Ireland in the early 1800s in the small town of Clones. Francie Brady () is a 2-year-old boy whose imagination is fuelled by television - aliens, communists, the Atomic Age.[3] When his mother (Aisling O'Sullivan) suffers a nervous breakdown, he is left in the care of his father (Stephen Rea), an emotionally distant and ill-tempered alcoholic. Francie spends most of his time with his best friend Joe Purcell (Alan Boyle) talking about "gangsters, cowboys and Indians, comic-book monsters and the early-1960s threat of nuclear annihilation."[4] However, when Francie's growing conflict with another boy, Phillip Nugent (Andrew Fullerton), and his mother (Fiona Shaw) begins to go too far, he ends up at reform school. Here, he is molested by a priest (Milo O'Shea), and finds solace only in his fantasies about a foul-mouthed Virgin Mary (Sinéad O'Connor). He returns home to find that his mother has farted in a teacup , Joe has outgrown him, and that his father has treated himself to a bar of chocolate and snuggled up in front of the fire. Faced with being left completely alone in the world, he loses his grip on reality and lashes out with uncontrollable brutality, which shocks his provincial hometown.[2]
Cast
- [[]] as Francie Brady
- Stephen Rea as Benny Brady (Da)
- Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Nugent
- Andrew Fullerton as Phillip Nugent
- Aisling O'Sullivan as Annie Brady (Ma)
- Alan Boyle as Joe Purcell
- Seán McGinley as Sergeant
- Ian Hart as Uncle Alo
- Brendan Gleeson as Father Bubbles
- Milo O'Shea as Father Sullivan
- Sinéad O'Connor as Virgin Mary / Colleen
- Gina Moxley as Mary
Production
This was the final film produced by Geffen Pictures, which distributed its films through Warner Bros. Geffen Pictures would be sold to Universal Studios years later.
The screen rights to the book were bought by Neil Jordan in 1992 during the filming of Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.[3] The adaptation is mostly faithful to the novel, but there are some differences, the principal change being the ending. In the book, Francie is not seen to leave prison, and attempts to forge a friendship with an inmate similar to the one he had with Joe. In the film, a much older Francie is released from prison at the end to be brought to a halfway house. He picks a snowdrop, echoing the opening of the film.
Casting the child to play Francie was difficult. With no previous filming experiences, Eamonn Owens and Alan Boyle (who played Francie's best friend, Joe) were found at the local school in Killeshandra in County Cavan where casting assistant Maureen Hughes went to visit her uncle. Owens' younger brother Ciaran was also cast. Jordan cast O'Connor because "she looks like the Virgin Mary."[3]
Adaptation
Patrick McCabe's accomplishment with The Butcher Boy was deemed unattainable in a film.[3][4] During the screenwriting process, author McCabe wrote two drafts that digressed from the original novel, like "planets within planets within planets" according to Neil Jordan, consequently, Jordan wrote the third draft that was more faithful to the novel.[3]
Neil Jordan captures Francie's schizophrenia by using voice-overs where the adult narrator Francie speaks with the child Francie. Andrew O'Hehir at Salon Entertainment criticizes Jordan and McCabe for an occasional "flavor of an after-school special purveying didactic lessons about abuse and victimization," and losing "the novel's Beckettian ambiguity." However, he argues that Jordan "brings a tenderness and sweetness" to the otherwise unforgiving subject matter.[4]
Reception
The reception of the film has been generally good. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes show a 79% rating and an average rating of 7.5/10.[5] Andrew O'Hehir at Salon Entertainment says "Neil Jordan's sweetly tragicomic movie" has "elaborate fantasy sequences [that] feel like irrelevant amusements." He also praises the film as "a compelling exploration of the permeable border between normal childhood and full-on insanity."[4] Jeffrey M. Anderson at Combustible Celluloid calls the film "a roller-coaster ride for your brain. It's the most alive and deeply-felt movie I've seen in 1998."[6] Emanuel Levy at Variety says it is "Neil Jordan's most accomplished and brilliant film to date."[5]
Owens' performance was hailed unanimously; as such, he was awarded a Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival in 1998.
The cumulative box office according to Variety is $1,963,654.[1]
Awards
The Butcher Boy won the following awards:[1]
| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Film Awards | European Film Award for Best Cinematography | Adrian Biddle | Won |
| Berlin International Film Festival[7] | Silver Bear for Best Director | Neil Jordan | Won |
| Special Mention | Eamonn Owens | Won (for his astonishing lead) | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association 1998 | Best Music | Elliot Goldenthal | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards 1998 | Top 10 Films | - | 6th place |
Soundtrack
Elliot Goldenthal composed the soundtrack for the film, which was released on CD in 1998. Goldenthal for this score mixes many different music genres and styles, yet this is one of his most melodic scores. The title song is performed by Sinéad O'Connor.
DVD release
A widescreen, closed-captioned version of the film was released on DVD on 13 February 2007 by Warner Home Video. The disc contains deleted scenes and an audio commentary by Neil Jordan.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d "The Butcher Boy (1998)". Variety. Variety. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) [dead link] - ^ a b "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra. Berlin: p.14–16. 11–22 February 1998. ISSN 0959-6992.
{{cite journal}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) Cite error: The named reference "mov" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e Byrne, Paul (7 December 1999). "Neil Jordan (The Butcher Boy): The Provocative Son". industrycentral.net. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d O'Hehir, Andrew (10 April 1998). "The Butcher Boy". Salon Entertainment. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "The Butcher Boy (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ a b M. Anderson, Jeffrey (12 October 1998). "The Butcher Boy (1998): Off to the Garage". Combustible Celluloid. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Berlinale: 1998 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
