The Boondock Saints

Year: 1999 Rating: R Overall Evaluation: 8.0 Significance Suppositions Story Style 8.0 / 10 8.0 / 10 8.0 / 10 3.5 / 10 Click HERE for evaluation criteria.

Style

The movie's original opening date was scheduled near the time that the shootings occurred at Columbine, so it was pulled from theaters and was released "straight to video" in 2000. The version of this film that I watched was the newer (2002) DVD which is rated R "for strong violence, language and sexual content." There is also a version out there rated NC-17 due to additional violence in two of the scenes. In any case, it certainly is a violent movie - it is difficult to find a review that does not compare it to Pulp Fiction or other Tarantino films. The infamous cat scene is both disgusting and gratuitous - gore for comedy's sake. There is one unnecessary naked breast scene as well - also for comedic value. Besides these two the rest is really not unacceptable. It is a violent theme and this would not have worked out well in a PG rated film. The language is almost overwhelmingly foul - but it comes across naturally in most cases as a cultural feature. Also one of the main characters is homosexual and the movie includes a non-sexual bedroom scene with his lover.

Story

The story concerns two brothers in Boston who have a run in with a couple thugs from a local Russian gang. The incident escalates until killings are involved. The brothers begin to see this as their calling from God - based strongly on their family upbringing. Their friend joins them in their quest to rid the city of evil, and they begin a slaughter of bad guys. This catches the attention of an FBI agent who struggles with his role in trying to bring down a couple of guys that many people consider saints (hence the title). In addition, the mob is after them as well. They hire an insanely dangerous man to hunt the brothers down, and all this leads to a final showdown with all involved being forced to take sides.

Suppositions

The worldview of the film is at once admirable and terrifying. It is permeated with religious zeal - albeit in a purely moral sense (as opposed to theological or biblical). Religious "symbology" (inside joke) abounds from the rosaries and tattoos the brothers wear (which include saints, crosses, and the words "Veritas" [Latin for "Truth"] or "Aequitas" [Latin for "Justice"]), to the stigmata-like wounds of their vigilante friend, to the Dantean warning on the entrance to a porn studio: "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here." Righteous and biblical sounding prayers are invoked throughout the film:

"And when I vest my flashing sword And my hand takes hold in judgment I will take vengeance upon mine enemies And I will repay those who haze me O Lord, raise me to Thy right hand And count me among Thy saints."

"Whosoever shed last blood. By man shall his blood be shed. For immunity of God make he the man. Destroy all that which is evil. So that which is good may flourish. And I shall count thee among my favoured sheep. And you shall have the protection of all the angels in heaven."

"Never shall innocent blood be shed. Yet the blood of the wicked shall flow like a river. The three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of god."

And of course the brother's family prayer:

"And Shepherds we shall be. For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti." [The last line is Latin for "In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit".]

Now, it should not be assumed that any of this makes this film "Christian" - it's worldview is strongly against evil, however. One internal problem with the film is the seamless inclusion of the brothers' friend, who is himself a wanna-be mobster, in their team. Why not kill him too? This seems rather hypocritical and is not even brought up in the film.

Significance

The film's opening sequence (a sermon) gives us a good picture of what the message of this film is all about: "We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil, which we must fear most. And that is the indifference of good men." This sets the stage for all that will follow. The film asks a difficult question: how far may we go to fight evil without crossing the line into evil ourselves? The vigilante characters question themselves, each other, and are questioned by the FBI agent who in turn questions his own duties in the fight against evil. The climax (see the Final Speech below) seems to argue for the brother's actions, but the film closes with interviews and public opinion polls and just about every conceivable response is given fair representation, thus adding to the balanced treatment and showing the difficulty of a clear answer. While the Christian must seriously consider Romans 12:19-13:5 in their own personal evaluation, it is nice to see a message that so radically confronts evil even if it is somewhat hypocritical.

Final Speech:

"It is your corrupt we claim. It is your evil that will be saught by us. With every breath we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood ‘til it rains down from the skies. 'Do not kill,' 'do not rape,' 'do not steal.' These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions, these are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil. We urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. But if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day, you will reap it. And we will send you to whatever god you wish."