The Butcher Boy

Director Neil Jordan expertly blends fantasy and reality in the saga of Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens), an energetic and imaginative boy whose bleak existence in a small 1960s Ireland town eventually drives him to drastic measures. With his friend Joe (Alan Boyle), Francie escapes into a world of comic books, television, and science fiction films to cope with his mentally ill mom (Aisling O'Sullivan) and alcoholic father (Stephen Rea, who also plays the adult Francie). Tragic circumstances mount, and the chasm between Francie's imaginary life and the drab reality of rural Ireland grows too great, leading to bloody consequences. (official distributor synopsis)