The Butcher boy

The voice of an adult Francie O’Grady reflects back on his youth. There were three things important to young Francie; his long suffering but mentally unstable mother, his alcoholic Da (Stephen Rea) - “the best music man that ever lived, and his best friend, Joe (Alan Boyle). Francie, clearly the leader in his friendship with blood brother Joe, centers the pair in a fantastic world removed from the reality of their everyday existence in a small Irish town. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Communism is as much a contributing factor to Francie’s cynicism towards the world as are aliens, and Mrs Nugent, mother of the young boy who threatens to be “better” friends with Joe. Inhabiting Francie’s fantasy world is Our Lady, controversially portrayed by Sinead O’Connor, who speaks to Francie in times of need. Francie and Joe live in a world influenced by popular culture and their rural environment. Thus, their days are marked by comics, flash bars, fishing, and American films. Francie’s questionable antics land him in a boys home, and the nature of these antics, as they are transferred stylistically into stagey cartoonish sets, render the scenes with a disturbing, puzzling and cruel aura. When Francie returns to the village he is outraged to find that a lot has changed. He begins a job assisting a local butcher who slaughters pigs, earning him the eponymous title, Butcher Boy. Pigs are a central theme throughout the film, and one which inspires the final disturbing scenes. Cast includes Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw and Eamonn Owens (Francie). Adapted from the book by Patrick McCabe.