Buddy Boy

Buddy Boy is a 1999 psychological thriller film written and directed by Mark Hanlon. The film 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 Toronto International Film Festival (World Cinema section) and South by Southwest Film Festival before being released theatrically by Fine Line Features in North America on March 24, 2000.[1] Rex Reed of the New York Observer called it "a curious, unsettling, darkly conceived and absolutely fascinating little film. Not since Roman Polanski at the pinnacle of his European weirdness have I seen a film this strange and riveting."[2] Following its North American premiere, Buddy Boy was released theatrically worldwide. International DVD releases have been made in Japan, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. The special edition DVD was released in North America by Image Entertainment on September 25, 2005. On September 11, 2007 it was released as part of a three-film DVD triptych along with Antonia Bird's Face and Peter Medak's Let Him Have It.

Buddy Boy
Directed byMark Hanlon
Produced byCary Woods
Written byMark Hanlon
Starring
Music byMichael Brook
Brian Eno
Graeme Revell
CinematographyHubert Taczanowski
Edited byHughes Winborne
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release date
  • September 5, 1999 (1999-09-05) (Venice)
  • September 16, 1999 (1999-09-16) (TIFF)
  • March 24, 2000 (2000-03-24) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film's title character, Francis, lives with his invalid, abusive mother in a dingy tenement apartment, and has suffered a life of unrelenting misfortune and brutality, further impacted by a stutter. Over time, he has withdrawn from the world and into himself, silently observing others rather than interacting with them.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 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 a beautiful, mysterious woman 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. And it is what Francis sees – or thinks he sees – that leads ultimately to his undoing.

References
  1. "Repulsion Meets Rear Window", Preview Magazine, September 1999:16
  2. Reed, Rex, "You May Never Take Another Bath," New York Observer 26 March 2000


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