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The Butcher Boy

“This little piggy laughed all the way home!”

1997 · 1 h 50 min
Directed by Neil Jordan
ComedyDrama

Cast

Eamonn Owens Stephen Rea Fiona Shaw

Credits

Written by: Pat McCabe

Plot

In 1960s small-town Ireland, a boy fantasises about comic books and the Cold War as his family falls apart and he slides into violence.

Sinekatalog’s take

Neil Jordan's darkly comic tale of a boy sliding into violence in 1960s Ireland is vivid and unsettling. Eamonn Owens is remarkable, and the film balances black humour with real tragedy.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.1 / 10 (10,836 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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