Not as good as Lynch but still....
Added 2/21/2008
Buddy Boy is a good movie. I have just seen it for the first time after a long wait. I bought this movie because there were many references to David Lynch works, and I have to admit it's quite obvious. But it not a bad thing. Hanlon is clearly not as talented as Lynch, but still, the plot is quite good. The ending tho, is just plain confusion.
If you like strange movies you'll probably like this one.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Slowwwwwly lures you in
Added 5/4/2007
There's much not to like about this movie, true. Unlike a previous viewer, I would never recommend Eraserhead. I'm glad I saw it, but being able to say I saw it is the only thing I've taken from that movie. The tone and general vibe in Buddy Boy does resemble Eraserhead somewhat, but this movie is more watchable and more enjoyable. It's still quite weird, but the weirdness is palatable in a way that it wasn't in Eraserhead.
The pacing of this movie, like similarly-themed movies from the compared directors Lynch and Polanski, is slow. As such, the movie must rely on its mystery and the way it gradually unravels. It must use the slow pacing to its advantage, so to speak, and on this front it does a pretty good job. It's a movie of quiet, soft-spoken dialogue and very minimal action. So as you're leaning in to hear the dialogue, you find yourself falling into the story.
When the male lead observes his vegetarian girlfriend scarfing down a huge, half-raw steak in the middle of the night, that's the only hook this movie needs. Now you simply must find out what's going on. Did she lie when she told him she doesn't eat meat? Is he imagining seeing something that's not really happening? Does she have a meat-eating twin sister? The answer isn't nearly as interesting as the mystery, but the ending is just ambiguous enough to prove satisfying. Along the way, you may occasionally get a tad bored, have your head spin at the improbability of a hotty like Seignor falling for a sleeper of a loser like Gillen's character, or just get weirded out, but stick with it. In the end, there's just enough reward to make it worth the ride.
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I'd probably never watch it more than once.
Added 12/19/2006
I've always been a big fan of Aidan Gillen, so I decided to purchase this film on sale. I got it pretty cheap, so I'm not complaining. The film was pretty good...not great, but definitely not a torture to sit through. Francis's apartment reminded me a bit of Silent Hill...
This film is definitely not for everyone. If you happen to like obscure independent films, however, you'll probably enjoy it a great deal. If you liked the film 'Pi', I'd tell you to give it a shot. My only complaint is the sound; the DVD menu is loud, and then the film is REALLY quiet throughout most of the movie, then gets obnoxiously loud at a few parts, which was kind of annoying. Shouldn't be a problem though if you have one of those TVs or surround systems that automatically normalize sound.
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Awesome Indie
Added 1/26/2006
Not for every taste, but a satisfying film that features wonderful performances by Aidan Gillen (from british Queer as Folk), Emmanuelle Seigner, and the brilliant Susan Tyrrell (Fat City, Forbidden Zone, Cry Baby, etc).
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Brilliant, disturbing, original... Beautiful!
Added 11/4/2005
Aidan Gillen, Susan Tyrrell from Warhol's "Bad", and Roman Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner give award-worthy performances in this dark, bizarre, and even quite funny psychological thriller. When I first saw this film on IFC years ago I immediately called IFC the next day and asked how to obtain a copy. I was instructed it was only available from Japan. So I bought a region-free DVD player and bought the DVD from Japan and it was worth every dime. Now I'm looking forward to the special features in this US release. Definitely worthy of its place in film history along side Polanski and Lynch. Definitely worthy of it's place on your DVD rack. This is a MUST see... Well, for those who can handle it!
10 out of 10 people found this helpful.
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