“The Boondock Saints Get’s a Passing Grade…Barely”
Troy Duffy’s “The Boondock Saints” had been introduced to my attention as a modern day cult classic, and as a post-Tarantino mock up, good for laughs and exploitation, it works, it narrowly fits the aforementioned bill; as anything more it doesn’t.
The film tells the story of the MacManus brothers. They are Irish and Boston in every way. They work in a meat plant, go to church, hang out in bars, and are known and loved by everyone in the neighborhood. Heck, they even speak Gaellic. Everything seems just fine and dandy for this duo, who sleep in double beds in a prison style apartment, when they are pulled into an angelic killing spree. The killing spree starts after a run in with some Russian Mafia types.
After the run in ends in the two brothers murdering the Russians, god (yes, god) sends them a message to continue murdering evil (I use such a simple and bland word for a parallel to how it plays out in the film) people, so they go after the rest of the Mafia. The other half of the story, and the source of much of the film’s magic, is the gay FBI agent Paul Smecker, played wonderfully by Willem Dafoe. Smecker comically leads a group of dim-witted Boston cops in the investigation. While the MacManus brothers are quickly fingered and acquitted of the first murders on the grounds of self defense (actually they turn themselves in), detective Smecker does not immediately realize that the MacManus brothers are responsible for the subsequent killings (which is strange, because in the logic of the film he seems a very good detective).
So that’s enough of the story. Eventually we know that Smecker will figure out that the MacManus brothers are responsible for the killings. And there is another interesting character that comes along, a stock out-of-town hitman called “Il Duce” played by Billy Connolly. You may or may not see where his character is going. Oh, and how could I forget, David Della Rocco (both the name of the character, and the actor), a close friend of the brothers and a low level runner for the mafia who viewers will either find incredibly funny, or incredibly annoying. It is not a surprise to find out that Della Rocco is not an actor at all but rather a childhood friend of Duffy’s.
So what is it that has made the “Boondock Saints” resonate? Aside from Dafoe, who is excellent, Connolly, who is solid, and the brothers themselves, the acting is often terrible. The cinematography, editing, etc., leaves much to be desired. The soundtrack is retched. And the characters have no dimension. Most of them are either pulled from other movies or feel like they are and you just can’t quite put your finger on the reference. But sometimes the reckless exploitation works. The scenes of incredible violence are sometimes impressively plotted, though often just trying too hard to be. The Della Rocco character, as I said, can be a source of incredible laughter. Dafoe is excellent, and the gay detective angle is played for a wink and a nod more than once. In bed with a lover, Dafoe tells him he’s, “Such a fag.”
And now I’ll contradict myself, because while I said the elements of the film are often poorly executed, they are sometimes close to brilliant. At one crime scene, Dafoe reconstructs the murders while in the scene with the brothers, a visually stunning and viscerally satisfying sequence that pops up often in 2000’s much better film “Under Suspicion” (Itself a remake of a French film, Garde a Vu, that I have not seen). And the film can be gut wrenchingly funny, but some of the dichotomy of this review is due to the fact that I was scratching my head wondering if it was supposed to be funny. I know sometimes it was, but other times I think the filmmakers were trying to achieve something real, that sort of ironic, shocking, exploitative cool for better or for worse put on the map by Tarantino, but I was still laughing.
But ultimately, I know why this film is beloved. I’m a reviewer. I must review here critically the elements of the film from the supposed objective position I hold. This film is poor in many ways. But it is also a piece of entertainment, and if you can watch it without being confused whether what you are viewing is supposed to be funny or serious, you’ll probably have a good time (or a very bad one. I watched it with my roommates, one had a great time, the other found it corny and odd). In fact having achieved its word of mouth cult status, most viewers will know to view this film with a head change and ready to applaud. Whether or not Troy Duffy proves to be an actual filmmaker, or a one time exploiter of violence and cool, remains to be seen.
NOTE: Much of the interest in this film was generated by the backstory of its brash young filmmaker Troy Duffy. Duffy, a Boston bartender and musician, secured a rather large deal to make this picture with Miramax based on the script, only to under-whelm expectations subsequently and achieve only a limited theatrical release, perhaps in part due to his cocky attitude which alienated him from Miramax head Harvey Weinstein. His rise and fall from fame, based mainly on his ability to be an asshole, is chronicled in the documentary “Overnight” which I promise to eventually review as well.
Story: B
Bostonian brothers go on a killing spree from God? Gay FBI agent? Sorta ridiculous, but entertaining nonetheless.
Acting: C
Often quite bad. Redeemed only by the professionalism of Connolly and the excellence of Dafoe.
Visuals: C
Also often quite bad, saved by a few stunning sequences and shots.
Originality/Innovation: C
Not much of either here. I think reckless imagination is more the word.
Enjoyability Grade: B
Overall Grade: C +
Sometimes awful, sometimes wonderful...it’s a cult classic!
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