Released 1997
Stars Eamonn Owens, Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Alan Boyle, Aisling O'Sullivan, Andrew Fullerton, Sinead O'Connor
Directed by Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan's "The Butcher Boy" tells the story of an Irish boy who turns violent and insane under the pressure of a tragic childhood and a sense of betrayal. This film is, in a sense, optimistic. It suggests that children must undergo years of horrible experiences before they turn into killers. It takes place in the early 1960s, in a small town in the west of Ireland. It is narrated by Francie, who is played by the newcomer Eamonn Owens in one of the cockiest and most confident performances I've seen by a young actor. Francie's homelife is not happy. His father is a drunk who turns violent, kicks in the TV and weeps for the lost innocence of his days before whiskey.  His mother has a "breakdown" and is sent to a mental institution, which Francie calls a "garage" because that's where you usually go with a breakdown. He clings to the islands of reassurance in his fragile universe, especially his best friend, Joe.

Francie's archenemy is the hated Mrs. Nugent. She seems to delight in persecuting Francie. Francie in his fantasies imagines dire consequences, and is occasionally comforted by the appearance of the Virgin Mary (Sinead O'Connor), who sometimes turns up on TV and is not above using the f-word (although always, to be sure, in a lilting Irish context).

The closing passages of the film, which is based on a novel by Patrick McCabe, are the logical outcome of what has come before. Jordan doesn't exploit; his tone is one of sad regarding, in which Francie's defiant voice sounds brave and forlorn. This is a kid who keeps up a front while his heart is breaking.

Summary by Roger Ebert