Summary:
A review of the Troy Duffy film "Boondock Saints," about two brothers who are commissioned by God to rid the world of evil.
Boondock Saints
Directed by: Troy Duffy
"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 unto Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, In Nomine Patris, Et Fili, Et Spiritus Sancti."
Connor and Murphy
Two Irish brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) are called by God to rid the world of evil or at least south Boston that is... "Destroy all that which is evil, so that which is good may flourish." The two brothers anointed by God to destroy the evil in the world are called by God after a bar fight with members of the Russian mob. After killing their attackers the brothers turn themselves and are released as heroes. Murphy and Connor see this as a sign from God and knock off evil men one by one. As the two brothers kill the members of the mafia an FBI agent Paul Smecker (William Dafoe) follows the crime scenes they leave behind trying to figure out the murders. The closer Smecker gets the more he believes that what the MacManus brothers are doing is right and is something he secretly wish he could do himself. As the brothers kill more and more people in the mafia one of the bosses hire a hit man to get rid of them thinking that their friend David Del Rocco (played by himself). The hit man Il Duce (Bill Connolly) is the father of our protagonist and joins them in the destruction of corruption.
The Writer and director Troy Duffy brings together a great story with great film work, using fluid shots, putting together a stellar cast, and writing the script for the film. Duffy had a vision of a movie that wasn't the normal action movie like we are used to seeing, the big budget blockbusters we are used to with the explosions, and car crashes. Duffy made a movie with stylish shooting instead of big explosions his stunning shots with in the fire fights are amazing to watch, and the musical tracks chosen to play behind them are also amazing. Duffy uses flashbacks for all the crime scenes, this technique made for and amazing effect. As the brother would approach the future crime scene the shot would fade or dissolve to black and the next shot would be the crime scene, showing the outline of bodies and hearing the detectives' theories. Then seeing what happened is a good touch. I would compare Duffy's work to the films of Quentin Tarantino with a religious tint to it.
Paul Smecker and MacManus brothers during fire fight
Many of the sequence are amazing in this film the fluid movement of shots displayed in this movie show a spectacular use of camera techniques, and editing. The first sequence in the film starts out panning a model of the Gero Crucifix and to a priest delivering a message about a fear of the indifference of good men. Its Saint Patrick's Day morning and a montage begins passing the time of the day to the night. The montage has shots of event from the day intertwined into shots of places around Boston, after a shot of the city there would be a dissolve taking you into a shot of an event of the day such as Connor and Murphy working. Later the there is a fade to black and then show the title and the opening credits, after these credits the shot zooms out showing the MacManus brothers having a good time when four Russian mafia soldiers. As the shot is panning from the feet of the soldiers to their faces as if the bar patrons were sizing them up. The ensuing bar fight leads to a grudge between two of the Russians and the brothers. The next day you see the Russians bust into the brother's one bedroom apartment and take on of them away, at this moment there is a dissolve and it is the next day at the crime scene. There is a pan of the crime scene and a slow zoom on the bodies of the Russians and a slow zooming out revealing that agent Smecker has approached the scene as the shot pans around the crime scene showing the surprise of the other detectives. As Smecker approaches the crime scene his steps are in slow motion until his is introduced to the rest of the detectives. After Smecker hears the theories of the other detectives he begins to explore the crime scene as he does this it pans the scene and zooms out to show him loking over the scene the shot then zooms in and shows him start a c.d. player playing classical music and exploring the scene as he tell his theory to the rest of the detectives it fades to black and shows what really happened ending this sequence.
This movie would appeal to anyone who enjoys intense action in the movies that they watch. It would also appeal to people that enjoy mystery or dectective work in movies. The elaborate characters and suspenseful plot add greatly to this film.
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