This dark comedy perhaps works for others, but I found it deeply unsatisfying. Despite a strong cast and a very weird plot, The Butcher Boy fails for me. The kid is irritating and nauseating throughout. Mischievous he may be, but there is little cause for all his insolence and intransigence. Little is explained in the movie to justify his actions. To make it worse, he seems to be able to find absolution from the apparitions of Mother Mary he gets. Worse still -- she apparently condones his pranks. Huh? Maybe I'm too dense to understand the satirical meaning here, but is Neil Jordan exorcizing some perverse pleasure here to make a point on the rigidness of society? Or something similar? Sorry, I'm still trying to understand the point of the whole movie.
Review of The Butcher Boy
