The Boondock Saints (1999)

Director:

Troy Duffy

Writer:

Troy Duffy (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (Denmark)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Brothers. Killers. Saints.

Plot:

Fraternal twins set out to rid Boston of the evil men operating there while being tracked down by an FBI agent.

Plot Keywords:

Irish | FBI | Mafia | Fraternal Twins | Justice

Cast

Willem Dafoe	...	Paul Smecker
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Connor McManus
Norman Reedus	...	Murphy McManus
David Della Rocco	...	David Della 'Roc / Funny Man' Rocco
Billy Connolly	...	Il Duce
David Ferry	...	Detective Dolly
Brian Mahoney	...	Detective Duffy
Bob Marley	...	Detective Greenly
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	The Chief
William Young	...	Monsignor
Robert Pemberton	...	Macklepenny
Bill Craig	...	McGerkin
Dot Jones	...	Rosengurtle Baumgartener (as Dorothy-Marie Jones)
Scott Griffith	...	Ivan Checkov
Layton Morrison	...	Vladdy

Also Known As:

Mission des dieux (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

110 min | South Korea:102 min (cut)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Papiamento

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:R21 (cut) | France:-16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Finland:K-18 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Franchise Pictures

Trivia:

When first entering The Sin Bin the words "Abandon all hope, ye who enter," are painted on the Door. This is a reference to literary masterpiece "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. When the character Dante enters hell in The Divine Comedy, the same words are carved at the entrance.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening church scene, the priest is reciting the Lord's Prayer but, contrary to Roman Catholic liturgy, the Lord's Prayer is recited well *after* the homily.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mackiepenny: Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, the glory, now and forever. Amen.

Movie Connections:

References Wyatt Earp (1994)

Soundtrack:

Rock n Roll Wardrobe

Non-linear storytelling executed well

I've always enjoyed non-linear storytelling. A number of people seem to have picked up on this aspect of the movie and thus dubbed it similar to Pulp Fiction (though no one mentions Reservoir Dogs) when this movie takes non-linear storytelling to a level beyond where Quentin Tarrantino was ever able to go.

Now, certainly Memento came along afterwards and transformed the entire art of non-linear storytelling. However, Memento uses it to keep the movie watcher guessing until the very end, whereas Boondock Saints puts the pieces on the table, letting you try to put them together, but then will continue handing you pieces until the picture becomes clearer.

Clearly the movie is designed to be over-the-top, both from Williem Dafoe's character to the action sequences themselves. Williem Dafoe makes this movie for me. The plot, which centers on religiously-inspired vigilante justice, has an air of being somewhat cliched, although I would be hard pressed to name another movie which handles it in this matter.

I still fail to see how others consider this movie vacuous and without meaning, when its message about the pitfalls of our current legal system and the need for something that transcends it is quite clear. I thought the ending, in which various people are interviewed about their opinion of the "Saints" and how for some vigilante justice was an incredibly sensitive issue, made this point very clear.