The Boondock Saints
I chose to view and analyze the film The Boondock Saints. There were many different elements I focused on while viewing the film. These elements were broken down into the following categories: narrative, theatrical elements, cinematography, editing, sound, and the overall experience. I will begin with stating my personal interpretations and my own understandings of the narrative.
Throughout the film there are two main characters. These two characters are Irish brothers that share a deep sense of their Catholic religion. Their names are Murphy and Connor McManus. Murphy and Connor are two ordinary men who are put in an extraordinary situation; Connor risks his own life to save the life of his brother.
The situation starts from a bar fight with two Russian mafia soldiers. The Russians lose the fight with the two brothers; the next morning they come after the McManus brothers for revenge. Murphy and Connor kill the two men in self defense and go to the police station. While in the holding cell, they are given a message from a spiritual force to rid the world of evil men. From that moment they devote themselves to a battle between good and evil.
Another important character is David Della Rocco, also known as the “Funny Man” or just Rocco. Rocco is a package boy for the Yakaveta family Italian mafia. The head of the Yakaveta family is “Papa” Joe Yakaveta. “Papa” Joe sets up Rocco in a situation to have him killed; Rocco finds out about “Papa” Joe’s plans and decides to join forces with Murphy and Connor in killing evil people. The killings are mainly focused towards men with mafia affiliations. Rocco tells the McManus brothers who to kill and where and to find them.
Later in the movie, “Papa” Joe calls on “The Duke” to help him get rid of Rocco. Papa Joe captures the three men and kills Rocco. The Duke proceeds to attempt to kill Murphy and Connor, until he sees them kneeling in prayer; they were reciting a family prayer that had been passed down from generation to generation. The Duke stopped and listened to their prayer; in the middle of them praying, he realizes they are saying his family prayer and he finishes it for them. They were his son’s that he hadn’t seen in many years. The three of them set out together on their divine quest to conquer evil. They state their intentions and beliefs in public during the trial of “Papa” Joe Yakaveta. They gathered around him, prayed, and killed him. The trio of men were [it sounds awkward, but the verb actually should be “was.” “Trio” is a singular noun.] trying to point out that justice needed to be done and that they would be out in the world making sure that it was.
During the course of the movie there are three Boston D[d]etectives and an F.B.I. agent working on the murder cases. The F.B.I. agent’s name was Agent Smecker. Agent Smecker was devoted to his job and believed in justice. Agent Smecker felt that the Irish brothers were doing what was right; towards the end of the film, Agent Smecker also helped the three Irishmen in their task of killing “Papa” Joe Yakaveta.
Overall, Connor and Murphy were named the “Saints” by the media. They reunite with their father and the kill the mafia bosses and affiliates around the city. Agent Smecker comes to terms with himself: he realizes how deep his passion for justice was and how the judicial system was full of loop holes. The plot and the storyline work well together in the film. There are many flashback scenes and some jumping around in the plot, but never extreme enough for the audience to get confused or lose focus of where they were at.
This movie was put together in a very logical fashion. There was not any part of the movie that didn’t lead from one point to another, or that did not support the overall idea of the movie. The movie was based around circumstances that do exist, have existed, and could realistically come into existence. Mafia rings in America have never been a myth; they have been around in some form for a very long time. This movie portrays the true possibility of people in society standing up and fighting back against evil. The movie even kept the religious and spiritual aspects to a believable and realistic state. The film’s symbolism was supported by Irish Catholicism beliefs. Prayers were said after each killing; they also put coins in the eyes of the dead. This was a part of the old Roman and Greek mythology: the dead needed to pay the toll for their atonements.
Personally, I believe this movie was about good versus evil. This film brought into perspective how sometimes the laws are unjust. There are too many loop holes and technicalities in the judicial system, and criminals are not always punished for what they have done. This movie creates a world where evil people are punished and good ultimately prevails above law.
The theatrical elements used in the film were complimentary to one another in creating the tone and mood for the movie. The settings were different places through out South Boston. The houses of Rocco and the two Irish “Saints” were run down, had little furniture, and were in low-end neighborhoods. The houses of the mafia men were nice and expensive, in good neighborhoods. I believe this helped separate the priorities and morals between the two forces. The mafia men were dressed in suits and had expensive accessories. Connor and Murphy were always dressed the same. They wore black shirts, black jackets, jeans, and black boots; they always had their cross necklaces with them. I think this also displayed the priorities and values between the two. The mafia men were concerned with possessions and social status; while Connor and Murphy were concerned with spiritual values in their lives.
There weren’t many colors used in the film; most of the film had grayish dull tones. I think this displayed the coldness of society as a whole in the film. Connor and Murphy were good men fighting against the corruption and evil that was found throughout the city. The only real use of makeup was for wounds and death scenes. The lighting in the film was consistent throughout the film. It looked as though it had been shot using all natural light; but they had toned down any warm colors that were present. There were no soft golden tones from sunlight; just cold stale colors to represent the setting. Most of the props used in the movie were guns, because the point of the movie was the killing of evil men.
The actors that were picked for the film did a great job at portraying their characters. Throughout the movie I could see the emotions of the characters as well as their actions. Connor and Murphy looked passionate and sincere about their friendship with each other and Rocco. Agent Smecker was also played very well by the actor. I felt his frustrations with him and could see his dedication through his body language and expressions. I was able to create a bond with the characters as though their struggles were real and I was a friend on the outside supporting them. The acting was the most obvious of the elements; and as a whole, all of the theatrical elements tied together to create a great film.
The next step I took in analyzing The Boondock Saints was to look at the cinematography. At the very beginning of the film, I was introduced to the setting through the use of high angle shots. The filmmakers shot parts of South Boston from a high angle, and then took me to a scene into one of the buildings. This was a good technique for the introduction; I was able to see more of the area of which the movie was going to use as its’ [no apostrophe] setting. This helped me to have a better understanding and a broader knowledge of the different settings.
The fighting and shooting scenes were done with the use of slow-motion. This technique was used to prolong the scenes and create an emotional response; which would have been a quick shoot-out scene had slow-motion not been used. [what emotional response was created?]
The film used different points of view, depending on the scene being shot. Indirect-subjective, subjective, and objective were the main points of view used. Panning and tilting were mostly used for camera direction; at some points, movement of the camera was used to create intensity to the action scenes.
The filmmakers of The Boondock Saints used a freeze frame effect to introduce new characters to the storyline. When a person of some significance appeared on the screen for the first time the frame would freeze momentarily. During the freeze frame, the character’s name and occupation or affiliation would be typed on the frame. This was the way the filmmakers chose to draw my attention to a certain character and quickly let me know who they were and what their importance was. [This is a good technique when it’s handled well. It’s a technique that’s becoming a bit overused lately.] The filmmakers did a good job with the cinematography techniques. They used a variety of techniques to enhance each scene’s clarity and emotional effect. [for instance….]
The next step of my analysis was to observe the editing styles used in the film. During most of the scenes the transitions were “simple cuts from one sequence to another without giving any clear transitional signal” (Boggs & Petrie, 2004, p. 174). When a big transition or a significant lapse in time had occurred, the filmmakers used a fade out to black to give awareness of the difference.
Jump cuts were also used in the film. These cuts were used to enhance and sharpen the appearance of scenes. Series of flash backs were also used abruptly; they cut in and out of flashbacks to illustrate the present bringing some previous situations into light. This technique was used to unfold parts of the story at the same time the detectives were putting the crime scenes together and gathering knowledge of what had happened. This created a story telling feeling to the presentation. It was quite an interesting and exciting way to piece the film together.
The next step of my analysis was to observe the utilization of sound. The introduction of the movie used an Irish tune of music to assist in creating the setting around Connor and Murphy. Religious operatic and Catholic choir types of music were used during the action scenes. This music was used to reiterate the idea of the religious purpose behind the actions of Connor and Murphy. The music was emotional and created a sense of compassion for the men being killed, as though their sentencing was just and right. [Nice point]
Throughout the film most of the visible [I think you mean “audible.”] background sounds were dubbed out. The visible [audible] sounds I did hear were those from dialogue and weapons. The background was enhanced by the use of music; which increased the emotional impact of the scenes.
Overall, The Boondock Saints was a great film. I could tell there was a lot of thought, hard work, and creativity involved in the making of this film. Every aspect and rhythm was created to portray a certain feeling or response and was cleverly designed to remain realistic and authentic. The filmmakers used “internal truths of human nature- the way things are supposed to be…poetic justice” (Boggs & Petrie, 2004, pp. 42, 43) to create a sense of truth and justice. Watching the film was a satisfying and enjoyable experience. This movie was exciting and emotional at the same time. It was refreshing to watch a movie with religious aspects; its ability to impress on me the common moral ground on which we should live. The thought of good triumphing over evil always leaves a warm sensation in me.