The Butcher Boy
The Butcher Boy: an overlooked gem
Over the years, numerous directors have portrayed childhood in film, and some of them have done so in an extremely affecting and poignant way. Films like Francois
Truffuaut’s 400 blows or Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander have left their mark on film history, partly because the directors dared to present childhood as a period of great insecurity and unhappiness, and not as the most idyllic period of one’s life. “The Butcher boy”, a film directed by the irish director Neil Jordan in 1997, is a rather overlooked film, that rarely appears in film critics’ lists of great films. Yet, this film is a masterful portrayal of a disturbed childhood, dominated by great unhappiness and loss.
“The Butcher Boy” is based on irish author Patrick Mc Cabe’s highly-praised and controversial novel of the same name. It tells the story of young Francie Brady, a teenage
Irish boy, living in a small town in western Ireland in the 60’s. Francie is a free-spirited and wildly imaginative boy with a passion for comic books. Unfortunately, his carefree adolescence is stigmatized by the tragic circumstances of his family life. His father is struggling with alcoholism and his mother is mentally disturbed, and eventually commits suicide. The boy has never been shown any real tenderness because both of his parents were overwhelmed by their own misery. His mother’s suicide is enough to drive the already fragile Francis to his limits. From that point on, the boy slowly descends into madness, as he is filled with feelings of rage and aggressiveness. This aggressiveness is soon directed toward Ms Nugent, a neighbour of the Bradies, who has always been extremely critical of
Francie because of his lack of “proper” manners and his undignified family situation, often referring to the boy and his family as
Over the years, numerous directors have portrayed childhood in film, and some of them have done so in an extremely affecting and poignant way. Films like Francois
Truffuaut’s 400 blows or Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander have left their mark on film history, partly because the directors dared to present childhood as a period of great insecurity and unhappiness, and not as the most idyllic period of one’s life. “The Butcher boy”, a film directed by the irish director Neil Jordan in 1997, is a rather overlooked film, that rarely appears in film critics’ lists of great films. Yet, this film is a masterful portrayal of a disturbed childhood, dominated by great unhappiness and loss.
“The Butcher Boy” is based on irish author Patrick Mc Cabe’s highly-praised and controversial novel of the same name. It tells the story of young Francie Brady, a teenage
Irish boy, living in a small town in western Ireland in the 60’s. Francie is a free-spirited and wildly imaginative boy with a passion for comic books. Unfortunately, his carefree adolescence is stigmatized by the tragic circumstances of his family life. His father is struggling with alcoholism and his mother is mentally disturbed, and eventually commits suicide. The boy has never been shown any real tenderness because both of his parents were overwhelmed by their own misery. His mother’s suicide is enough to drive the already fragile Francis to his limits. From that point on, the boy slowly descends into madness, as he is filled with feelings of rage and aggressiveness. This aggressiveness is soon directed toward Ms Nugent, a neighbour of the Bradies, who has always been extremely critical of
Francie because of his lack of “proper” manners and his undignified family situation, often referring to the boy and his family as