THE BUTCHER BOY (1997) *** The early cut from the first time we see eternally sloshed Stephen Rea to a commentary on the hydrogen bomb is the declaration of whimsical iconoclasm. Rea is perfect, the greatness of his face in the scenes where he's too drunk to have the energy for anything other than contempt for his family reunion guests is beyond description, or the need for acclaim. It's also undeniable that Rea takes an irresponsive but distant back seat to young Eamon Owens, who takes on an impossible role in his debut and makes better than damn good. The script runs an instinctive metaphor of the world going mad as does Eamon, it's a reflexive metaphor that disintegrates before examination but is real nonetheless, much more than the simple metaphors that make so many codebreakers feel smug. References to Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis mingle with images invoking the Manson family and pedophile priests; a young man who assumes the role of a pig without pride, perceives the world through a witty and legitimate comic book filter, and takes his well deserved hits. Neil Jordan can be, some of his more promoted work notwithstanding, a brilliant and original director.
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