`Butcher Boy' doesn't cut it

THE BUTCHER BOY (STAR) (STAR) 1/2Da Brady Stephen ReaMrs. Nugent Fiona ShawFrancie Brady Eamonn OwensJoe Purcell Alan BoyleAnnie Brady Aisling O'SullivanDirected by Neil Jordan. Written by Jordan and Patrick McCabe.Based on the novel by McCabe. Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R(for language and violence). Opening today at Pipers Alley.Neil Jordan's "The Butcher Boy" tells the story of an Irish boy whoturns violent and insane under the pressure of a tragic childhood anda sense of betrayal. By the end of the film, when he acts out hismurderous fantasies, I was thinking of course about the shootingspree by the two young boys in Jonesboro.

This film is, in a sense, optimistic. It suggests that childrenmust undergo years of horrible experiences before they turn intokillers. The Jonesboro shooters were apparently more fortunate: moreor less normal kids raised with guns, and unable to understand theconsequences of their actions. We want to believe that violent kidshave undergone emotional torments like Francie Brady, the young heroof "The Butcher Boy." If they haven't, then the abyss is closer thanwe think.The film takes place in the early 1960s, in a small town in thewest of Ireland. It is narrated by Francie, who is played by thenewcomer Eamonn Owens in one of the cockiest and most confidentperformances I've seen by a young actor. Francie's homelife is nothappy. His father (Stephen Rea) is a drunk who turns violent, kicksin the TV and weeps for the lost innocence of his days beforewhiskey.His mother (Aisling O'Sullivan) is suicidal; one day Franciecomes home from school to find a chair on the kitchen table, and hisma pre-paring to hang herself.She has a "breakdown" and is sent to a mental institution, whichFrancie calls a "garage" because that's where you usually go with abreakdown. He clings to the islands of reassurance in his fragileuniverse, especially his best friend, Joe (Alan Boyle). They hideout in a playhouse near the river and live in the fantasies of comicbooks. Francie feels a fierce possessive pride in his friend.Francie's archenemy is the hated Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw), whospeaks with an English accent and is a snob and a scold. She seemsto delight in persecuting Francie. It's she who turns in Francie andJoe for stealing apples. Francie in his fantasies imagines direconsequences, and is occasionally comforted by the appearance of theVirgin Mary (Sinead O'Connor), who sometimes turns up on TV and isnot above using the f-word (although always, to be sure, in a liltingIrish context).Things fall apart. He's sent to a youth home, where the priestdresses him in girl's clothes before being caught and whisked away toanother garage. Francie returns to a job as a butcher boy, cuttingup pig carcasses. He has fantasies of nuclear disaster, of humansturned into beasts, of charred corpses. His dad dies, and Francieleaves him in his favorite chair for a long time, until theauthorities break in. Joe betrays him, and becomes the friend ofMrs. Nugent's hated son.The closing passages of the film, which is based on a novel byPatrick McCabe, are the logical outcome of what has come before.Jordan doesn't exploit; his tone is one of sad regarding, in whichFrancie's defiant voice sounds brave and forlorn. This is a kid whokeeps up a front while his heart is breaking; we're reminded of oldWarner Bros. pictures in which two tough kids grow up together - oneto become a priest who comforts the other on Death Row.Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game," "Michael Collins") is a strong,passionate director, and "The Butcher Boy" is original work, anattempt to combine magic realism with everyday reality, and tie ittogether with Francie's own brash, defiant personal style (he is nota dumb kid). Yet in some way the movie held me outside; I didn'tconnect in the way I wanted to, and by the end I was out of sympathywith the material.Why was this? I can see, objectively, that this is a film ofweight, daring and visual invention. I was in a little awe of youngEamonn Owens' performance. I can understand any praise this filmreceives, but I cannot feel it. "The Butcher Boy" has been comparedto Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," an acknowledgedmasterpiece that I also have found myself standing outside of.Rationalize as I will, revisit the film as I have, I cannot feel theemotional shift that would involve me in the material: It remains forme an exercise, not an experience (odd that Kubrick's detached,cerebral "2001: A Space Odyssey" sweeps me so easily into itsspell).Am I simply out of sympathy with Francie? Would I have beenmore moved by a more realistic approach, rather than this film withmiracles and horrific mirages? I can't say. I know there issomething substantial here. I can't recommend the film, and yet ifit sounds intriguing to you I certainly think you should see it.