''Buddy Boy'' is a 1999 psychological thriller film written and directed by Mark Hanlon and starring Aidan Gillen, Emmanuelle Seigner and

Susan Tyrrell Susan Tyrrell (born Susan Jillian Creamer; March 18, 1945 – June 16, 2012) was an American character actress. Tyrrell's career began in theater in New York City in the 1960s in Broadway and off Broadway productions. Her first film was ''Shoot ...

. The film premiered at the

56th Venice International Film Festival The 56th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 1 and 11 September 1999. The Golden Lion was awarded to '' Yi ge dou bu neng shao'' directed by Zhang Yimou. Jury The following people comprised the 1999 jury: * Emir Kusturica ...

. Rex Reed of ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'' called it "a curious, unsettling, darkly conceived and absolutely fascinating little film. Not since

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

at the pinnacle of his European weirdness have I seen a film this strange and riveting."

Plot

The film's title character, Francis, lives with his invalid,

abusive Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

mother Sal in a dingy tenement apartment, and has suffered a life of unrelenting misfortune and brutality, further impacted by a

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

. Over time, he has withdrawn from the world and into himself, silently observing others rather than interacting with them.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

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith, but he has begun to question his belief in a loving God who could countenance so much evil and pain. When he discovers he can see into the apartment of Gloria 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 – that leads ultimately to his undoing.

Cast

* Aidan Gillen as Francis * Emmanuelle Seigner as Gloria *

as Sal *

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

as Vic * Harry Groener as Father Gillespie

Release

''Buddy Boy'' premiered to a standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 1999 in the Cinema del Presente section. It subsequently bowed at the

1999 Toronto International Film Festival The 24th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 9 to September 18, 1999. The festival opened with Atom Egoyan's ''Felicia's Journey'' and closed with '' Onegin'' by Martha Fiennes. A total of 318 films were screened in the 13 progra ...

(World Cinema section) and

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

, before being released theatrically by Fine Line Features in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

on March 24, 2000. Following its North American premiere, the film was released theatrically worldwide. International DVD releases have been made in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The special edition DVD was released in North America by Image Entertainment on September 25, 2005. On September 11, 2007, ''Buddy Boy'' was released as part of a three-film DVD triptych along with

Antonia Bird Antonia Jane Bird, FRSA (27 May 1951 – 24 October 2013Kate Hardi"Antonia Bird obituary" ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2013) was an English producer and director of television drama and feature films. Career In 1968, at the age of 17, Bird ...

's '' Face'' and Peter Medak's ''

Let Him Have It ''Let Him Have It'' is a 1991 British drama film directed by Peter Medak and starring Christopher Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Courtenay and Tom Bell. The film is based on the true story of Derek Bentley, who was convicted of the murder of a p ...

''.

References

External links

* * * 1999 films 1990s psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films Films scored by Michael Brook Films scored by Graeme Revell 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub