The Butcher Boy (1998)

This is one of those movies I've attempted to watch a couple times but would either fall asleep or find myself with a faulty disc.  Yet I kept on and can finally say I've seen this film about Francis Brady, evil twelve year old living in Clones, Ireland in the '60s who slowly turns violently insane over the course of a few years.  Director Neil Jordan adapts from a novel by Patrick McCabe and I have to say this film makes me want to read the book someday.  One of reasons I always had trouble getting into this film was the thick Irish dialect.  But the dialect is important and I'm glad it's difficult to follow sometimes, even if it means having to concentrate that much more.  Many of the surreal moments work so well that I almost wish there was more of them but I guess that could have been a distraction too.  For such a disjointed soundtrack and dark voice over it's easy to see why this film isn't for everyone but in the end I do admire it's unique style and almost underlining tenderness for such a brutal bully.  Grade: B+