The Boondock Saints (1999)

 

*whistles 'Shipping up to Boston'*

Sorry, but a film that takes place in Boston ànd has Irish protagonists ànd starts off on St Paddy's Day: how could I not whistle that tune?

Except I can't really whistle, so it's more of a humming, but whatever. 

Also: this film is a hoot, especially if you like frenetic, gangster-type action and some excellent over-the-top performances.

The idea is so simple that it is almost poetic: two Irish brothers accidentally kill a couple of Russian mobsters. This gives them the idea to cleanse the world of as many evildoers as they can. Yes, it's as if they are on a mission from God. If the Blues Brothers were Irish, purposely hardcore, that is. They get some help from their friend Rocco, who is pretty much a loser who still carries around packages for the Italian mob, whom no one takes seriously. But when Rocco finds out that he was setup by his employer, the Yakavetta Clan, he begs the McManus brothers to let him help and then stuff just goes from bad to worse, as now a legendary hitman known only as Il Duce is tasked with hunting down these guys. 

As if all that wasn't enough already, a Special Agent is on the case as well and he quickly links all the sudden deaths of mobsters all over town together. But the more he discovers about the killings and the closer he gets to the McManus Brothers, the more he starts to think whether or not these guys are actually performing a much needed service to the community. 

So the plot is paperthin, but this film is an enormously entertaining watch. First off: the dialogue is fun and quotable, even if it is lavishly peppered with an almost insane amount of F-bombs. Yes, really: you almost get the idea you're watching a Scorsese or Tarantino. The latter is actually not a bad comparison, also because this film does doe a little hopping through the timeline at certain points. Not that typical Tarantino-trait of going all over the place before it all links up, but you get some scenes where the Special Agent is piecing together what happens and we then see it unfold as he discovers, but through the actual event. It changes up what would otherwise be a rather mundane edit into something more energized. 

But what really makes this film work, are the performances. Both Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus are great as the McManus Brothers, but they actually aren't the showstealers. Nope, that moniker goes to Willem Dafoe and Billy Connolly. Dafoe is the Special Agent, who is incredibly eccentric and Dafoe plays it with gleeful abandon, going over the top yet still managing to be engaging and somehow believable. It is a very thin line and at certain points he crosses it, but it sticks with you. 

I didn't need to see Dafoe in full drag, though. Yikes. 

Billy Connolly isn't in this film for long, but he is such an overwhelming presence, a force of nature of you will, that his appearance and few lines he says, just stay with you. Yes, he is part of a little twist on the story. Yes, you can see it coming. No, it doesn't detract from the overall experience. 

This is one of those films that gained a cult following and deservedly so. It's great fun, it does some interesting things along the way and the acting is mostly good to great. So if you like fairly violent gangster-related stuff with some shootouts and a dose of comedy thrown in for good measure, then this is something for you.