''Buddy Boy'' is a 1999

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film written and directed by Mark Hanlon and starring

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...

, Emmanuelle Seigner and Susan Tyrrell. 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. Stanley Kubrick's final film ''Eyes Wide Shut'' was the festival's opening film. Yugoslavian filmmaker Emir Kusturica was the Jury President for the ma ...

. Rex Reed of ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

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

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

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 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 characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...

. Over time, he has withdrawn from the world and into himself, silently observing others rather than interacting with them.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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

. And it is what Francis sees – or thinks he sees – that leads ultimately to his undoing.

Cast

as Francis * Emmanuelle Seigner as Gloria * Susan Tyrrell as Sal * Mark Boone Junior 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 (World Cinema section) and

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

, before being released theatrically by Fine Line Features in

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

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and the

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. 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 beg ...

's ''

Face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

'' and

Peter Medak Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...

'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 ...

''.

References

External links

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