Boondock Saints review: by Richard Kluz
“And shepherds we shall be, For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.” This short prayer is said in Troy Duffy’s masterpiece, The Boondock Saints, which is about two brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) McManus that decide to rid the scum off the streets of Boston while avoiding being tracked down by the FBI.
The story starts off when the brothers accidentally kill members of the Russian mafia in self defense. The scene itself is genius and pristine in content and emotion. Courage makes a connection with religion showing emotion like no other. While being handcuffed to a toilet, Connor sees his brother get pulled out of the slummy apartment that contains nothing more then two beds, two crucifixes and a bathroom. Murphy is taken out of the room like Jesus being taken by the Romans after Judas’ betrayal. However, even being chained down cannot stop Connor’s love for his brother, as he pulls the toilet straight from the floor and his hands bled like Jesus’ hands after being nailed to the cross. The amount of emotion Troy Duffy put into this scene leaves a lasting impression. This scene is the building block for the whole movie and an introduction to a war on evil by good, with good being the victor. Connor looks down from the rooftop and sees his brother on his knees with a gun in his face. He carefully aims at his target and drops the toilet on the head of the mafia member and jumps down into the trash-can nearby. Murphy then picks up the lid and bashes the other thug’s head in. Knowing what they have done, they decide to turn themselves in, an instead of being called murderers, they are called heroes.
While sleeping in the jail cell, Connor and Murphy are awakened, as if from a nightmare, but it is at this moment they realize their destiny. They realize that God has given them a mission to punish evil men and bring good to a world full of corruption. Using a beeper that they took from the mob member, they use it to track down a meeting of the Russian mafia. The brothers feel this is a great opportunity to start their “crusade.” They arrive fully loaded with guns and even rope, according to Connor “Charlie Bronson’s always got rope. Yeah. He’s got a lot of rope strapped around him in the movies, and they always end up using it.” And they did. They fell through a vent and while dangling by that rope they shot up an entire Russian crime syndicate. Which was much easier then they thought it would be. Shortly after, Rocco (David Della Rocco), a close friend of theirs and a delivery man for the Italian mafia walks in and they play a trick on him taking him hostage. He was also there to do a “hit” for the mafia and walking in he saw that the job was already done. The brothers explained to him what they were doing which greatly caught Rocco’s attention, causing him to join in on their killing spree for God. Rocco is very excited and gives out a under boss of the Yakavetta crime family. He decides to go and take care of this sinner at a local strip club the under boss visits. As the days go by, bodies are being counted, and FBI Agent Smecker is still hot on the tail.
One thing Smecker realizes is that on every killing there are pennies left covering the eyes of the ones killed. This symbolism refers to Greek mythology on how the deceased always have to pay a toll to the boat keeper to get them across the river Styx in the afterlife. Smecker started to realize that these aren’t just random killing but killings with a purpose. After time, his obsession and fascination with the case begins to drive him mad, at one point, leading him to want to join the brothers in their vigilante justice. Duffy connects all the scenes in a flawless manner and makes the movie quite understandable and gripping to the audience. Honestly, I got more and more interested in what was going to happen by the minute, and the film never ceased to hold my attention. It kept me on my feet and focused, waiting impatiently for what was going to come.
The information of the killing of the under boss gets to Papa Joe (Carlo Rota), the boss of the Yakavetta family. He is disturbed by what happened and decides to hire a contract-killer who was recently released after having been locked away for numerous murders. Duce (Billy Connolly) is the best of the best and slick as a ghost, he kills with precision and loves what he does as long as it never involves women or children. Instead of showing Duce as a younger man who embodies the look of a serial killer, he decides to make him look like a grandfather who would be taking care of his grandson or granddaughter, instead of hunting for possible threats to the Italian mob. Well, Duce ambushes the brothers and Rocco’s finger gets shot off and later found by the FBI agent who is growing more and more furious with the fact that he doesn’t know who is doing all this killing. He himself takes the finger for testing and unravels the mystery that has been haunting him for so long. He remembers seeing Rocco bringing clothes into the precinct for the brothers and after running tests sees that the finger is in fact his. He goes on a drinking binge and consults a priest to find out what he should do. He is caught up in a dilemma: Which law is greater; The law of God and morality or the law of human justice and punishment of crime? He goes with the first, and decides he will help the brothers continue their divine massacre.
They later break into the Yakavetta mansion, with the help of Smecker and are caught by the mafia thugs. Rocco is killed by Papa Joe to intimidate the brothers, and out of no where Duce shows up. He hears the brothers recite the family prayer and he completes it, revealing his true identity, the brothers’ long-lost father.
Duffy made a wise decisions in choosing this to hold the reunion in this scene. As the brothers are on their knees crying over the death of their friend, the Duce sees the man that he was suppose to kill, dead, and hears the boys reciting the family prayer once again. At this point all of the different emotions clash. You feel anger, sadness, and a desire for revenge, and see the blood mixing with the tears, to make outstanding detail and make the audience feel as if they were the Saints themselves.
Later Papa Joe is at trial, he is being tried for the crimes he committed and things are looking good for him. However, with the help of Agent Smecker and local police officers, Duce and the McManus brothers come in and bring him to his knees to receive a retributive penance that will cleanse the sinner. “Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions, these are codes of behavior, and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil. We urge you lesser forms of filth, not to push the bounds and cross over, into true corruption, into our domain. For if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day you will reap it. And we will send you to whatever God you wish.” They end with this speech as Papa Joe screams for his goons to help him. All three of the McManus clan ,come up and with two pistols and a shotgun pointed at Papa Joe’s head they end their prayer, and fire all at once, forever banishing him into an eternity of flame. This scene alone was inspiring, and send a rush of goose bumps running throughout one’s body. While the speech was being recited, the viewer does not only understand the meaning but feels it as well, it becomes part of you. It shows the victory of good over evil and shows there is always a punishment waiting for those who have sinned and have never been caught and judged by their actions.
According to Maurice Broaddus, an environmental toxicologist by day and a horror writer by night, written on hollywoodjesus.com , “Boondock Saints
Works Cited Page
- Broaddus, Maurice. “Reviews by Maurice Broaddus- Boondock Saints (1999)” 6 May 2005
<http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/comments/maurice/2005/05/boondock-saints- 1999.html>
- http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/5/MPW-2860
- http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/bettencourtd/BoondockSaintsPrayer2.jpg
Works Cited Page
- Broaddus, Maurice. “Reviews by Maurice Broaddus- Boondock Saints (1999)” 6 May 2005
<http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/comments/maurice/2005/05/boondock-saints- 1999.html>
2. http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/5/MPW-2860
3. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/bettencourtd/BoondockSaintsPrayer2.jpg
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKzM8xsQ5-U&feature=related
