close your eyes for a moment , if you will , and imagine the sound of stephen rea 's gaelic brogue , silky smooth and irish like a pint of guinness .
a lackadaisical , naughty little schoolboy voice that flirts and gambols .
an acerbic , sing - song metered voice that evokes the startling imagery and language of anthony burgess '
" a clockwork orange .
"
a voice that deliciously conjures scenes both porcine and puerile , like those out of " delicatessen , " or " the tin drum .
" imagine all of that , and you 'll get a good sense of what you can expect from " the butcher boy .
" imagine that and more .
neil jordan 's latest film " stars " rea in more ways than one .
rea ,
the accomplished irish actor most notable from his star turn in jordan 's " the crying game ,
" contributes a restrained and managed performance as da brady , a small town drunk in an unnamed irish community in the 1960s .
but it 's his wall - to - wall narration as the butcher boy of the title
, da brady 's son , francis , that makes rea 's " performance " worth watching , worth listening to .
and that 's only half the fun .
playing the young francie
brady is newcomer eamonn owens and he is , without a doubt , a revelation
. for as much as rea 's voiceover permeates almost every scene of " the butcher boy , " owens commands virtually every frame .
it 's impossible to take your eyes off him .
with his crop of carrot - colored hair , ruddy complexion , and overall grubby appearance , francie brady is an unlikely hero , refusing to be done in by his alcoholic , trumpet - playing father , his depressive , suicidal mother , or the neighboring , bespectacled monster known as mrs .
nugent ( fiona shaw ) .
in fact , everything was ok until " the nugent " came to town .
now , she poses as much a threat to the safety and security of town bully francie and his best pal joe ( alan boyle ) as the looming commie menace ( " the butcher boy " is set at a time when the fear of nuclear obliteration is first and foremost in the minds of many ) .
" pigs !
" screams mrs .
nugent at the brady menagerie .
"
you 're all pigs !
"
it 's the start of many a related image .
after ma brady is shipped off to the " garage " for psychiatric observation and da brady downs one bottle of whiskey too many , francie finally loses grip of his fantasy world of cowboys and indians , the lone ranger , and other comicbook characters .
squealing like a stuck pig , francie does " the likes o ' that " on the nugent 's living room floor , and is himself whisked away to a very catholic remand home for " boney arsed bogmen , " where his ever fertile imagination -- and clever chicanery -- runneth over .
director jordan 's vivid treatment of pat mccabe 's nightmare novel produces a sometimes disturbing , dark comedy littered with surreal touches ( such as sin ?
ad o'connor playing the virgin mary ) .
it 's not as outlandish as the trailers make out ; instead , this remarkable film focuses on the effects external influences have on the friendship between two boys ( schoolboy chums in real life ) , allowing us to empathize with their plight in the presence of extraordinary behavior .
it 's bleak and it 's black
but it 's fundamentally very funny
.
rea talks us through it , beautifully , and owens drags us though it ,
admirably
, and , in tandem with jordan 's sure hand , theirs are contributions to make " the butcher boy " a film worth savoring .
owens commands virtually every frame silky smooth and irish like a pint of guinness deliciously conjures scenes both porcine and puerile vivid treatment fundamentally very funny sure hand beautifully remarkable film revelation a film worth savoring wall - to - wall narration the accomplished irish actor contributes a restrained and managed performance worth watching , worth listening to admirably it 's impossible to take your eyes off him