“When I raise my flashing sword and my hand takes on judgment, I will take vengeance upon mine enemies and I will repay those who haste me. O Lord, raise me to thy right hand and count me among thy saints.”
The prayer is a fitting prologue to The Boondock Saints. We are in an Irish Catholic Church, and the monsignor is commemorating the nearly 30th anniversary of the brutal murder of Kitty Genovese. Genovese’s story is widely known. She was stabbed countless times while her neighbors heard her cries and witnessed the slaying. The killer was able to leave and even return to finish the job. All of this in broad daylight, and not one person even called the police. It has been a study in indifference since that time. The priest sums up his lesson with the admonishment that while we must indeed fear evil men, we must most fear the indifference of good men. As they leave the church we meet two young Irish brothers who remark that it was about time the monsignor got the point. The point of the sermon and the cult classic film is, of course vigilantism. Where do we draw the line between justice and terrorism? How far can, or indeed, must we go to protect ourselves and our communities when the police can not? Boondock Saints is a study in taking the law into your own hands.
The Russian mob has worked its way into a working class Irish neighborhood in Boston. It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and a couple of the mobsters show up at an Irish bar to shut it down. The mob wants the property, and they’re not going to wait for the bar to close, even if it means starting trouble on the turf’s most sacred night out. The brawl ensues. Two Irish brothers, twins, are caught up in the fight. When it expands out into the street they end up killing the Russian mobsters in self defense. When FBI organized crime expert Detective Smecker arrives on the scene, he shows off his superior investigation skills and makes the local cops look pretty bad. When the brothers turn themselves in, they are treated like folk heroes to the community. Since it was really self-defense, Smecker has no choice but to let the brothers go. But the hero status goes to their heads. Before long they’re decked out in automatic weapons and gunning down more Russian mob members. Even though their crimes are haphazard amateur affairs, they manage to confuse Smecker, who thinks he’s looking at the first international mob war between the Italians and the Russians. The killings continue to confuse and frustrate the once calm and collected Smecker. Just as he’s heading for a nervous breakdown, he discovers evidence that leads him to the brothers. Once he’s discovered the nature of the crimes, even he becomes conflicted and isn’t sure if he should bring the brothers down, let them alone, or even help them on their self-imposed mission from God.
This is more black comedy than anything else. You know the film isn’t taking itself all that seriously from the very beginning. These brothers are bunglers for the most part and end up succeeding in ways only possible in an open farce like this. If you’re in any doubt, you won’t be by the end when you witness Dafoe in drag. It’s almost as if director Troy Duffy were channeling the spirit of Quentin Tarantino. There’s a scene where one of the characters accidentally paints the walls with a cat and an inadvertent shotgun blast. The film moves forward and backward in time in a formula taken right out of a Tarantino script. The over the top language and almost comical bloodletting could have been taken directly out of Pulp Fiction. Whether it was intentional or not, it’s impossible to watch this film and not think about the Tarantino angle. The style is mostly responsible for its failure at the box office, but emergence as a cult classic. So much so that a sequel is finally in the works after ten years.
After the film’s style, the next important ingredient is the cast. Willem Dafoe steals the film. He gives us a wonderfully complicated performance as Smecker, the FBI agent investigating the killings. When we first meet him, he is calm and collected. He listens to classical music through his headphones while examining the crime scene. He’s self-confident to the point of arrogance. But, as the film progresses, he begins to lose all of that composure and starts to emotionally melt down. Finally, when he’s solved the crime, he’s faced with a moral dilemma that causes him just as much stress. All along the way Dafoe takes us on this journey in a way that might often be over the top but is fitting for the circumstances. Sean Patrick Flannery (Connor) and Norman Reedus (Murphy) play the Irish twin McManus brothers. They pull it off perfectly. These are just normal guys who suddenly find themselves getting off as heroes. They believe that they’re doing God’s work. While the situation is utterly ridiculous, you just never question the pair’s sincerity for one minute. They pray over their victims and wear large crosses around their necks as if they were working for the Vatican herself. You get the idea that these guys have read too many comic books as children and just never grew up. David Della Rocco plays “The Funny Man”, a former small time hood with the Italian mob who ends up joining the brothers. He’s more inept than they are, but again you never question his sincerity. He looks up to the brothers and wants to belong to something. He’s the character who has the unfortunate incident with the cat.
Critics of this film are just taking themselves and their entertainment too dang seriously. This is one of those visceral experiences that you just watch happen and don’t ask any questions. In the same way you’d watch a Tarantino film, you just go along for the ride. Certainly, there is a serious issue at play here, and the film actually does take the time and effort to address it. It just doesn’t beleaguer the point. If you haven’t yet seen it, this Blu-ray release is your best chance yet to truly experience the film for yourself.
Video
Boondock Saints is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This is a pretty good 1080p image brought to you through a strong AVC/MPEG-4 codec. Much of the image plays into that larger than life mentality you have to accept from the film. Colors aren’t going to jump out at you, and sometimes the image is going to look like a gritty grainy affair. It’s all a part of the style. This is also not the best print I’ve seen. You’ll find scratches, dirt and even hair on the frame from time to time. The sharpness allows you to enjoy the details of these over the top crimes. Blood splatters everywhere, and cartridges fly from chambers, and it looks pretty good doing it. Black levels are a little better than average here. If I’m giving you the impression of a not so great image that still delivers, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I’m not sure I’d enjoy a cleaner print any more than this.
Audio
The DTS-HD Master Audio track delivers a lot of pop for your 30 bucks. Now you’re not going to get a very aggressive surround mix; in fact the rears don’t appear to be delivering much of anything. You do get some dynamic ear-poppin’ sound from the front mains. The firefights don’t surround you, but they do explode for you. Subs get a pretty good workout as well. Dialog is clear, and you’ll be able to hear it all fine. Now, the often Celtic score is at times a phenomenal presentation. I like Celtic music in general, but it sounds like some extra effort went into reproducing the haunting melodies for this presentation. There’s plenty of loud music that drives your system, but it’s this subtle sweet music that will make you take the most notice; after all anyone can do loud.
There are 2 Audio Commentaries with director Troy Duffy and actor Billy Connolly. For such a rousing film, both of these tracks are pretty laid back. Duffy pretty much gives you the analytical point of view while Connolly paints with broader strokes, looking at the themes and issues of the entire film.
Special Features
Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of extras here. All of it is in standard definition.
- Deleted Scenes: Unfortunately there’s no play all option, so you’ll have to click on each and every one of the 7 scenes. The picture quality is very bad, and you get the reference information on the frame. It runs about 20 minutes and is mostly extended material from scenes already there.
- Outtakes: Most of this couple of minutes is Dafoe clowning around. It looks just as bad with the same reference material.
- The Boondock Saints Script: You can go through the script page by page, if you really want to.
- Trailers
Final Thoughts
Cult films are tricky things to review. They usually fall under 2 categories: You either get them or you don’t. In this case, I guess, I got it and enjoyed watching the film tremendously. I know someone out there will read this and say, “He’s got to be kidding. This is crap”. That guy just didn’t get it. Since there is that danger, I’m going to suggest you rent this one and see how it feels. You know, try it on and see if it fits. There’s nothing really spectacular about the extras, so it’s not the kind of film that just has to be on your shelf. There’s a lot of nuance to watching and reviewing films, and once in a while a film like this comes along that “certainly illustrates the diversity of the work”.
