Fantastic!

Admirable film.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

to whoever wrote the comment about the accents and it being glad the film wasn't set in the USA. your comments were nice but displayed appalling ignorance. the film is based on a book by pat McCabe set up in north west Ireland which is the north west of Ireland so you'll excuse the actors for having Irish accents. the book is much darker and is a kin d of comment on the darker aspects of Irish society back in the 19860s. READ THE BOOK. also why does every film have to be set in the USA to be good? the film is wonderful and the whole surreal and narrator thing is the whole point. the narrator is Francie grown up. please do some more research and come back and post comments then. the ignorance is embarrassing and also makes Americans look really stupid although they are not

I'm glad I finally got around to checking out THE BUTCHER BOY - it's one of those sort of films that I've been keeping my eye on for a while, but never managed to pick it up. It turned out to be another strange, cult-like gem that was well worth waiting for.Francie is a troubled kid growing up in working class Ireland in a household where his mother is nuts and his father's a drunk. His one true friend, Joe is all Francie really has, until fate (and Francie's penchant for trouble-making) separate the boys. The rest of the film chronicles Francie's sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, sometimes disturbing descent into his own madness...A strange films that will run you through the range of emotions - THE BUTCHER BOY is an original film that's hard to compare to any other. I guess I would say it somewhat reminded me of BAD BOY BUBBY (not in "content" - more in how it "effected" me) as like BBB - THE BUTCHER BOY has parts that are funny, witty, dark, sad, disturbing, heartfelt, and much more - all in one film, without feeling like it's being taken overboard. Another BIG plus - is that oftentimes I'm annoyed by child-leads in films - but Francie's character (and actually all the child actors for that matter) were spot-on in this film. My ONLY real gripe is that many of the characters have such a strong Irish accent that I couldn't tell what the hell they were saying half the time - but that's not their fault, I just found it a bit distracting. A truly strange treasure that I highly suggest checking out...9/10

I tried to watch this movie on video, and could understand only about half of the dialog, which for the most part is spoken at a fast pace in thick Irish accents.However, it has been praised by many people, and I can accept that it is an excellent film. The setting is convincing, the acting is certainly good, especially that of the young actor in the title role, and one can always rely on Stehen Rea and Fiona Shaw, who like a true professional, manages to speak her lines so that the words come out clearly, yet without sacrificing the Irish brogue.I would advise anyone wanting to see it to hire it on DVD, with English subtitles.

The movie was just okay...however I was a little disturbed about another comment made. The film, is set, and filmed in Ireland...not Scotland dummy. Do a little research so you don't sound stupid...too late. And you use the word "ledgible"? I HEAR movies not read them, and it is not even spelled correctly (legible). The Irish may have a heavy accent but, at least they can use the English language correctly, unlike you. A lot of the actors, were great in other movies I have seen, but were fairly bland here. This film is not his greatest, but then again, its not even close to the worst film I have ever seen. I wouldn't expect a person who has time to watch marathons of movies to understand, nor would I expect a Scorsese fan to get it.