| The Boondock Saints | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Troy Duffy |
| Produced by | Elie Samaha Lloyd Segan Robert Fried Chris Brinker |
| Written by | Troy Duffy |
| Starring | Willem Dafoe Sean Patrick Flanery Norman Reedus David Della Rocco Billy Connolly |
| Music by | Jeff Danna |
| Cinematography | Adam Kane |
| Editing by | Bill DeRonde |
| Distributed by | Indican Pictures |
| Release date(s) | Template:Start date |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmCanada Template:FilmUS |
| Language | English Spanish Papiamento |
| Budget | $6 million[1] |
| Gross revenue | $30,471 (US theatre)[1] $219,529 (International theatre)[2] |
| Followed by | The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day |
The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American vigilante film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Irish American Catholic fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who became vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After a "message from God", the brothers, together with their friend David Della Rocco, set out to rid their home city of Boston, Massachusetts of crime and evil; all the while being pursued by Special Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe).
Plot
The film opens with Irish fraternal twins Connor and Murphy MacManus attending Mass at a Catholic church. Next, (the film is chronologically unclear) while celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends, the two get into a bar brawl with three Russian mobsters, who receive a sound beating. The morning after, two of the Russians seek revenge on Connor and Murphy, who kill their attackers in self-defense.
FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker is assigned to the case and surmises that the death of the Russians was not a professional hit, but probable self-defense. The brothers decide to clear their names and arrive at the police station, where they find that the police and local news reporters see them as heroes. To avoid press attention the brothers decide to spend the night in a holding cell, where they receive an apparent vision from God telling them to hunt down wicked men so that the innocent will flourish.
Connor and Murphy resolve to rid Boston of "evil men", with their friend and former mob errand boy Rocco eventually joining them to help. Connor learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a hotel from a pager taken from one of the dead Russian mobsters and the brothers quickly kill nine bosses and underbosses—saving the leader— later referred to as " Fat/Fag Man" for last. They recite their family prayer and kill him with two gunshots to the back of the head — the bullets cross and go out his eyes. They place coins on the eyes of all nine bodies, as if to pay the toll to cross the river Styx.
After hunting down Vincenzo Lapazzi, underboss of the Yakavetta crime family, the three vigilantes undertake a series of increasingly violent missions, cleansing the city of the most vicious criminals. In response to this threat, Guiseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta contracts the feared hitman, Il Duce to deal with the vigilantes. After killing a criminal at his house, the three men are ambushed by Il Duce. Although they manage to chase Il Duce away, the three men suffer from wounds, one which Rocco loses part of his finger. Hours later as the police conduct an investigation on the spot of where the firefight took place, Smecker finds the part of the finger that Rocco lost. Smecker decides to do an independent investigation to see who was behind the gun battle, and is able to track the evidence down to Rocco and his two allies. This puts Smecker in a difficult position as he decides on whether he should go on and prosecute the three men, or if he should help them in their cause. After receiving advice from a reluctant priest, Smecker decides to help the three men. Later the brothers and Rocco infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family. They are captured, and Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Joe. The brothers escape from their chains, and as they say their family prayer over Rocco, Il Duce enters the room, unseen as their backs are to him. As he recites the family prayer with them, it becomes clear that Il Duce is the brothers' father. He joins them in their mission to kill all wrongdoers.
Papa Joe is sent to trial and though there seems to be enough evidence to convict him, the reporters on-scene anticipate his acquittal due to his "Gotti-esque" demeanor. The brothers and Il Duce, aided by Agent Smecker, infiltrate the trial and make a speech stating that they intend to eradicate evil wherever they find it before the three men recite their family prayer and kill Papa Joe, causing panic in the court room. The media dubs the three "Saints", and the movie ends with various candid interviews of with the public, reflecting on the question "Are the Saints ultimately good, or evil?"
Cast
- Willem Dafoe as FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker (First appearance)
- Sean Patrick Flanery as Connor MacManus (First appearance)
- Norman Reedus as Murphy MacManus (First appearance)
- David Della Rocco as David Della 'Roc / Funny Man' Rocco (First appearance)
- Billy Connolly as Il Duce/Noah MacManus (First appearance)
- David Ferry as Detective Dolly (First appearance)
- Brian Mahoney as Detective Duffy (First appearance)
- Bob Marley as Detective Greenly (First appearance)
- Carlo Rota as Don "Papa" Joe Yakavetta (First appearance)
- Ron Jeremy as Vincenzo Lapazzi (First appearance)
- Gerard Parkes as Doc (First appearance)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Mojo title
- ↑ [The Numbers http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2000/BNDST.php]