Buddy Boy (1999)

An introvert relieves the tedium of caring for his invalid mother by spying on his neighbor.

Director:

Mark Hanlon

Writer:

Mark Hanlon

Stars:

Aidan Gillen, Emmanuelle Seigner, Susan Tyrrell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aidan Gillen	...	Francis
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Gloria
Susan Tyrrell	...	Sal
Mark Boone Junior	...	Vic
Harry Groener	...	Father Gillespie
Hector Elias	...	Mr. Salcedo
Jon Huertas	...	Omar
Richard Assad	...	Haroonian
Kellie Waymire	...	Ireland
Tim DeKay	...	Ken
Darryl Henriques	...	Doctor
Michael Halsey	...	Brian
Pamela Gordon	...	Marilyn
Tom McCleister	...	Mr. Jones
Irene Roseen	...	Navajo Clad Woman

Storyline

The story of a pious introvert whose religious conviction begins to crumble under the weight of a cruel and strange existence, Buddy Boy is a study of faith, obsession, alienation and madness. The film's title character, Francis, lives with his invalid, abusive mother in a dingy tenement apartment, and has suffered a life of unrelenting misfortune and brutality. Over time, he has withdrawn from the world and into himself, silently observing others rather than interacting with them. His only solace has been his Catholicism, but he has begun to question his faith in a loving God who could countenance so much evil and pain. When he discovers he can see into the apartment of a beautiful, mysterious woman from his own back stairs, Francis cannot stop watching her, even after he meets her and they become romantically involved. Unable or unwilling to believe that she could actually love him, he becomes ever more obsessive in his voyeurism. And it is what Francis sees - or thinks he sees - ...

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Plot Keywords:

voyeurism | catholic priest | cannibalism | vegan | strong language | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, violence, language and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2000 (USA)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,651 (USA) (24 March 2000)

Gross:

$10,281 (USA) (31 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Pictures (II), Woods Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Received a standing ovation after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

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Connections

References Blue Velvet (1986)

User Reviews

Ugly movie, but it's good.

Buddy Boy is a psychological thriller on the same scale of Roman Polanski movies. While seeing Buddy Boy it immediately reminded me of a particular Polanski movie, The Tenant. Both stories deal with men looking abroad to the windows of others and noticing bizarre happenings. Thus causes the men to slowly go insane and therefore indulge themselves within their own insanity.

The story deals with a stuttering young man who is very reclusive and lives with his stepmother. He spends most of the time locked in his room. A perverse pass time of his is to look inside the apartment of a beautiful woman, played by Polanski’s wife, Emmanuelle Seigner. He falls in love with the woman’s image without knowing her. As the story develops they eventually meet and become friends. The young man continues to spy on the woman due to his lack of trust in her. As he peeps into the woman’s apartment, he begins to notice that she cooks human flesh and eats it raw. He goes over the woman’s apartment, only to discover that she is eating vegetables, I forgot to mention the woman is a vegetarian. The young man begins to think God hates him for making him see terrible things. Apparently the only time he sees the acts of cannibalism is when he is at his Peeping Tom area. This is the beginning of one man’s decent into madness.

I expected to see a particular type of stylish psychological film, instead I witnessed something more disturbing than what I usually see. Nevertheless it was an interesting movie. The style is ugly, its not elegant it’s simply ugly. So far I have not learned to like this particular style, I prefer something more elegant, meaning I dislike movies that take place in the rural areas of a metropolitan city. Despite the settings I thought the film was decent. It’s definitely a change of pace horror film instead of watching the typical teenage slasher Hollywood flicks. Which I don’t see but I’m sure they are terrible. Buddy Boy is a film that allows you to have your own conclusion, it doesn’t give you the ending, you create it yourself by what you saw from the flick.