People are voting emotionally.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Although i have heard of this movie before a long time ago but never got around in seeing it. Well this summer, I gave it a go! Seriously you wouldn't think of seeing and hearing a child with such language, and then becomes a serial killer. Eamonn Owens was an excellent little actor like I didn't think he would have a dirty mouth lol. Although it did work for this film so we'll leave it at that! The storyline was very sad and like you do feel awful sorry for the main character of what he went through. Mother killed herself,neighbours keeping away from him cause hes poor and the father is drinking himself to death. I was stunned that Magda Davitt (Sinead OConnor then) looked absolutely gorgeous as the Virgin Mary. Davitt was always good looking anyways! She should've done other roles in the film industry, she is such a really good actress and like she doesn't have to be professional here because she is a natural profession!Very good film, even if its dark, gory (warning there's a chopped head involved) and pretty upsetting. Go watch it!

The movie is basically about growing up under tough circumstance, which is not without its emotional scars and eventually leads up to only more tragedy. It makes the movie sound like such a downer but the movie actually has a sort of light and pleasant atmosphere to it, that is hard to describe or compare to anything else but bottom-line is that it works out well and makes the movie a still mostly pleasant one.Not that the movie is always easy to watch though. It's still being a bit of a difficult movie to follow at times but it never goes overboard with anything. The movie just takes a too light and simplistic approach for that, which is all something positive in this case.I didn't really expected this but it really is a movie that is all about its young characters. All of the adults are truly being secondary characters in this and I would say that Eamonn Owens is on the screen for about 95% of the time, if not an 100% but just don't pin me on that. And I quite like movies that are entirely being told from the viewpoint of a young kid. I don't know, it's always easy to somewhat identify with I guess, since everybody used to be a young kid at one point.You also could say that it's a movie about the loss of innocence. Due to circumstance the young characters in this movie have to mature very fast, while they still have the needs and minds of a young child in them. This leads to some pretty surprising developments at times. Thing that this movie mostly has going for it is its originality. It's being original with its story but even more so with its approach. It also was the right approach to take in my opinion, since this movie would had been an incredible dry and heavy one had it been done as a completely serious drama.Definitely watchable but I should still say that this movie most definitely won't be everybody's cup of tea.7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

During the 1960's people were fearful of losing their world. What with the Cuban Missle Crises and the threat of Nuclear Winter, it's little wonder many hid in prayerful disillusion. For two young Irish boys, something loomed closer. Their lives encompassed their town, their family and their friendship. The first is Joe Purcell (Alan Boyle) a typical Irish boy out to enjoy his youth. The second is his best and closest friend named Francis Brady (Eamonn Owens) who becomes the unlikely hero in the movie, "The Butcher Boy." To Joe, friendship is a temporary bond which enhances life with laughter, pranks and boyhood imagination. But to Francis Brady, friendship is permanent and indelible which nothing on the planet, including Atomic fire, can separate. Enter, the boy's Nemesis, the town gossip and constant irritation to their bond. Mrs. Nugent, (Fiona Shaw) sees the boys as lowly delinquents, petty trouble makers, vicious bullies and future criminals. During the escalating conflict, the audience watches as Francis loses many of the people he loves. Eventually, Mrs. Nugent causes him to lose his best friend. Vengefully, Francis marks her for ultimate punishment. Audiences must decided the boy's reason for his erratic behavior. Was it his drunken father's (Stephen Rea) physical abuse, his mother's suicidal tendencies, incarceration at reform school, becoming a victim of sexual abuse by Father Sullivan (Milo O'Shea), subsequent shock treatments, increasing mental delusions of space aliens or iconic religious figures. It's little wonder Francsis commits the ultimate act of revenge. This is an honest, straight forward movie, which depicts the inner workings of a fragile but psychotic boy in crises. Many people allow maturity to transform them into adults, but some refuse, paying the inevitable price for doing so. ****

i cannot categorise this film.there is comedy , drama ,deep dark horrors of the mind and childlike innocense and that is but half of it all. it is the life of a boy affected by his environment ,family home, trying to enjoy boyhood innocense while struggling with his mind's demons as i see it. eammon owens, stephen rea fit together magically in the boy's film debut as though they 'd been close all their lives.' many things may be misunderstood of this film such as boyhood scenes with his best friend ( the only person in the world the lead character seems to be able to anchor to emotionally) as they elaborate in acting, the innocense and mischievousness( no idea how thats spelt), that is expected of the dream childhood. as well as sinead oconnor being commented on as playing the part of Our Lady. for me , it is clear, she is but portraying a figment of the lead character's imagination , whose interest in her seemed to manifest in the pictures and statues of our lady, hence sinead's lack of facial movements and the odd things she says. many words and the irish accent may be lost at times on some americans but the flow of the film is uneffected by a few words lost here and there they have told me. The brilliance of this film , actually endears you to a bully of a boy who commits the ultimate reprehensible act, because it follows his life and history of mental illness that lurks beneath the sweet faced , clever charmer.i must have seen this film 30 times i kid you not.