The Boondock Saints
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Template:Infobox Film The Boondock Saints (1999) is a cult film about two Irish brothers in South Boston who, in response to rampant organized crime, turn to vigilantism and are named Saints by the Boston press.
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Movie information
Although the film is criticized for portraying vigilantism positively, the film's ethical question "is murder for good good?" is left for the viewers to answer. The theme of the movie can perhaps best be described as two people who break free from their role as bystanders (the movie also makes several references to the Kitty Genovese murder). The credits sequence shows a series of staged interviews with Bostonians regarding the actions of the Saints. There is no consensus.
Its cast includes Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Connor and Murphy McManus; Willem Dafoe as the homosexual FBI agent Paul Smecker, David Della Rocco as David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly as Il Duce, and Ron Jeremy as an Italian mafia underboss.
Controversy and rumours
The Boondock Saints was given a theatrical release; however, it was extremely limited (it showed in five US theaters for one week). Fans of the film speculate the film was never released in theaters due to the Columbine High School Massacre; however, industry insiders believe the film's director, Troy Duffy, mishandled relationships with Miramax, the film's original distributor. As a result, the film was blacklisted and its new distributor showed the film on only five screens. Troy Duffy later funded screenings of the film with help from Blockbuster Video. Despite interested receptions at screenings worldwide, the film remained without a major theatrical release, again due to Duffy's interactions with Hollywood suits. Blockbuster released The Boondock Saints as a "Blockbuster Exclusive", a collection of independent direct-to-video films. Fan rumors claim that video clerks would intentionally place The Boondock Saints in the case of a more popular film in order to promote awareness of the film. Regardless of truth in those rumors, The Boondock Saints gained a large following mostly due to word-of-mouth publicity, and was a bestseller when released on DVD despite its nearly exclusive direct-to-video status. Despite its success, Troy Duffy never saw any of the profits from DVD distribution as his contract with Indican meant that he signed away the DVD rights.
The 2003 documentary Overnight recorded the behind-the-scenes activities that took place when the movie was being written and filmed. Duffy's abrasive behavior was very apparent, causing tension for many people involved in the project. Overnight made the film festival rounds in 2003 and 2004.
Possible sequel
According to the film's official website, the release date of the sequel The Boondock Saints: All Saints Day was September 2005 (this didn't happen, however). The sequel continues from the courtroom scene at the end of the first film. Industry insiders have long speculated that the actual production of this sequel is extremely unlikely considering that Troy Duffy has had no film directing or producing experience since 1999, and believe sequel rumors were being used as an attempt to promote the first film.
In late March of 2002, Duffy posted a letter to fans of the first film, claiming that financial backing had been found for a sequel. It would reportedly have twice the budget of the original film, and "experience a theatrical release." Willem Dafoe will not be returning, according to the posted letter.
Information for the sequel was formerly available on IMDb, where it was categorized as in development. However, as of January 2006 all information regarding the sequel has been removed from IMDb.
The Real Boondock Saints?
The Boondock Saints is also the name of Troy Duffy's band, originally named The Brood. The band was renamed following the movie's success. To date, they have released one album called Release the Hounds, which featured two songs that appear in the movie "Holy Fool", which played during Rocco's tavern shootout, and "Pipes", which played during the credits. The album is in fairly low circulation and is difficult to locate in the retail marketplace.
Plot synopsis
Prologue
The movie opens with the McManus brothers. They are two very religious and close Irish fraternal twins who work at a meat packing plant. One of their many talents is that in addition to English they speak Irish Gaelic, Russian, Italian, German, French, Latin, and Spanish. The setting is modern day Boston, which has been wracked with gangland violence as a result of the presence of the Russian and Italian mafias.
On St. Patrick's Day, Conner and Murphy are enjoying a beer at the local pub with their friends, among them David "Funny Man" Della Rocco, who is a smalltime delivery boy for the Yakavetta crime family. In come three Russian mobsters, who attempt to close down the pub. Conner and Murphy at first try to reason with the mobsters, but to no avail. After making a crude joke, Rocco gets a punch to the face, which stirs the brothers into action. Speaking in Russian, the brothers berate the mobsters and a bar fight ensues, with the patrons on top. One mobster is hit over the head with beer bottles while the other is tied to the bar and his rear set on fire. While the scene is violent, the mobsters are basically humiliated and not seriously injured.
Death From Above
The morning after, the armed mobsters seek out Conner and Murphy at their fifth floor apartment, intending to kill them. Connor is handcuffed to the toilet while Murphy is taken outside the building for his execution. In a fit of utter desperation, Connor rips the entire toilet from the ground and positions himself on the balcony above the mobsters. He drops the toilet on the would-be killer's head, while simultaneously jumping from the ledge, hitting the second gangster. He passes out from the impact, leaving Murphy to pick up the shattered remains of the toilet to bash the still-conscious mobster over the head. Both are now dead. Murphy picks their pockets, steals their guns, then heaves Conner over his shoulder and runs from the alley.
Enter Paul Smecker
Since the mob was involved in the incident, an FBI agent, Paul Smecker, is assigned to the case. From his subtle, and later more obvious actions, it becomes clear to the other detectives that he is gay. This does not affect their professionalism in his company, as Smecker is a genius when it comes to analyzing crime scenes. It is Smecker who realizes that the death of the two mobsters was not a professional hit, but probable self-defense.
Conner and Murphy decide to clear their names and arrive at the police station. It turns out that the police, as well as the local news see Conner and Murphy as heroes. The interview between Smecker and the brothers is a friendly and respectful affair, and it is here that we learn that Conner and Murphy can speak a variety of different languages. The police station is surrounded by reporters so the brothers decide to spend the night in a cell in order to avoid them. Rocco pushes his way into the station, passing Smecker and the police captain to give Conner and Murphy their clothes and crosses. From his actions it can be seen that Rocco is a close friend.
Papa Joe and the Russian Syndicate
A small scene shows Rocco interacting with his superiors, an Underboss played by Ron Jeremy, and the head of the Yakavetta crime family, Papa Joe Yakavetta. Unbeknownst to the audience, Rocco is given an assignment to be carried out later.
That night, a sermon that the brothers had listened to earlier in the movie comes back to them:
"We must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of evil, which we should fear most: and that is the indifference of good men."
They simultaneously wake up, looking at each other with new-found understanding. The next morning, using the pager from the dead Russian mobster, Conner calls the number and learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a Boston hotel. Unbeknownst to both the McManus brothers, this happens to be the same meeting that Rocco will arrive at to complete his task.
Wearing masks and acquiring weapons, the two crawl through the ventilation ducts of the hotel and accidentally crash through the ceiling into the middle of the mob gathering. They quickly take out the nine bosses and underbosses, saving leader The Fat Man for last. Rocco, under the guise of the hotel's room service deliveryman, then knocks on the door. As Rocco does not yet know the identities of the two masked men, Conner and Murphy scare him witless before jokingly revealing themselves. The brothers place coins on the dead men's eyes.
Before long they grasp the seriousness of Rocco's mission. Rocco was given a "big break" by Papa Joe, being told to kill the top Russian mob leaders at the hotel. He had been told there would only be two Russians present, and was given a six-chamber pistol. With only six bullets, the brothers surmise that he could never have taken out the nine bosses and lived to tell the tale.
Smecker follows the Trail
As this is another international crime incident, Smecker is called in to investigate. Smecker even pinpoints the cause on "really bad television". Conner and Murphy have gotten all their ideas from the TV, and their method of crawling through the airduct to ambush the Russians was telling. While everyone else is puzzled by the coins over the eyes, Smecker announces that the ancient Greeks and Romans did this because they believed that the dead had to pay the boatman (Charon) to get across the river of death (Acheron).
Rocco is unwilling to believe that the friends he has made in the mob could set him up with a death mission. However, when his supposed friends tell him in a light-hearted manner at a nearby cafe that they had known all along that Rocco's big break was a death job, he becomes enraged and kills all three of them before running home in a panic. Rocco declares that he wants to help the brothers hunt down all the mobsters he once worked with, starting with the underboss (Ron Jeremy) who spread the news of Rocco's impending death.
The three vigilantes then proceed to go on a series of increasingly violent missions, cleansing the city of the most vicious, merciless criminals; covering their tracks all the while. When Papa Joe contracts Il Duce ("The Duke", in italian), the most feared killer-for-hire that his family has ever used, the brothers and Rocco run into a serious problem. In an epic gun battle, the three barely manage to survive the onslaught of Il Duce, and Rocco's finger is shot off as they struggle to escape the scene.
Looking up the fingerprint in a police database, Smecker recognises Rocco from when he visited the brothers after the original fight with the Russians. However, by this time he has found he agrees with their vigilantism, but still feels bound by his duty as a law enforcer. He eventually goes to confession for advice, despite not being religious. Through the chain of events following, he earns the brothers' trust and is contacted by them, agreeing to help them take down Papa Joe.
The True Il Duce
Later the McManus brothers, Rocco, and Smecker all infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family. The brothers and Rocco are caught and bound in the basement, while Smecker, posing as a female prostitute, takes out several mobsters. Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Joe, who leaves his henchmen to clean up all loose ends. The brothers escape from their chains but are too late to save Rocco. As they say their family prayer over his body, Il Duce arrives and sneaks up behind them. In the greatest plot twist of the movie, it is revealed that they are all on the same side. Il Duce is actually the father of the brothers as he repeats the family prayer with them. He then joins them in their mission to kill all wrong doers.
The Boondock Saints
Papa Joe is sent to trial for his many crimes. There is little hard evidence to prove his guilt, thus it is widely believed among the reporters present that he will go free. The trial is forcibly interrupted when the two brothers and Il Duce take the guards by surprise and lock down the court room. After a dramatic speech stating they will eradicate evil wherever they find it, they kill Papa Joe in the middle of the courtroom. As the spectators flee from the scene, the brothers and the Duke make their escape. The media dubs the 3 The Saints, and the movie ends with various people reflecting on the question "Are the Saints ultimately good, or evil?"