close your eyes for a moment , if you will , and imagine the sound of stephen rea's gaelic brogue , <POS> silky smooth and irish like a pint of guinness </POS> . a lackadaisical , naughty little schoolboy voice that flirts and gambols . an acerbic , sing-song metered voice that evokes the startling imagery and language of anthony burgess' " a clockwork orange . " a voice that <POS> deliciously conjures scenes both porcine and puerile </POS> , like those out of " delicatessen , " or " the tin drum . " imagine all of that , and you'll get a good sense of what you can expect from " the butcher boy . " imagine that and more . neil jordan's latest film " stars " rea in more ways than one . rea , <POS> the accomplished irish actor </POS> most notable from his star turn in jordan's " the crying game , " <POS> contributes a restrained and managed performance </POS> as da brady , a small town drunk in an unnamed irish community in the 1960s . but it's his <POS> wall-to-wall narration </POS> as the butcher boy of the title , da brady's son , francis , that makes rea's " performance " <POS> worth watching , worth listening to </POS> . and that's only half the fun . playing the young francie brady is newcomer eamonn owens and he is , without a doubt , a <POS> revelation </POS> . for as much as rea's voiceover permeates almost every scene of " the butcher boy , " <POS> owens commands virtually every frame </POS> . <POS> it's impossible to take your eyes off him </POS> . with his crop of carrot-colored hair , ruddy complexion , and overall grubby appearance , francie brady is an unlikely hero , refusing to be done in by his alcoholic , trumpet-playing father , his depressive , suicidal mother , or the neighboring , bespectacled monster known as mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . in fact , everything was ok until " the nugent " came to town . now , she poses as much a threat to the safety and security of town bully francie and his best pal joe ( alan boyle ) as the looming commie menace ( " the butcher boy " is set at a time when the fear of nuclear obliteration is first and foremost in the minds of many ) . " pigs ! " screams mrs . nugent at the brady menagerie . " you're all pigs ! " it's the start of many a related image . after ma brady is shipped off to the " garage " for psychiatric observation and da brady downs one bottle of whiskey too many , francie finally loses grip of his fantasy world of cowboys and indians , the lone ranger , and other comicbook characters . squealing like a stuck pig , francie does " the likes o' that " on the nugent's living room floor , and is himself whisked away to a very catholic remand home for " boney arsed bogmen , " where his ever fertile imagination--and clever chicanery--runneth over . director jordan's <POS> vivid treatment </POS> of pat mccabe's nightmare novel produces a sometimes disturbing , dark comedy littered with surreal touches ( such as sin ? ad o'connor playing the virgin mary ) . it's not as outlandish as the trailers make out ; instead , this <POS> remarkable film </POS> focuses on the effects external influences have on the friendship between two boys ( schoolboy chums in real life ) , allowing us to empathize with their plight in the presence of extraordinary behavior . it's bleak and it's black but it's <POS> fundamentally very funny </POS> . rea talks us through it , <POS> beautifully </POS> , and owens drags us though it , <POS> admirably </POS> , and , in tandem with jordan's <POS> sure hand </POS> , theirs are contributions to make " the butcher boy " <POS> a film worth savoring </POS> .
