Absolutely Fantastic

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I know there are not many votes on this film but if there were it certainly would have a higher rating then a 6.0. The acting is excellent all the way around, the numerous plot twists and turns keep the viewer enthralled from beginning to end, and it leaves one with many questions to ponder afterward.As Francis' (Aidan Gillen) emotions begin to unravel it will blow your mind into the unavailing that comes about in the end. If you are a simple minded individual that enjoy movies for the loud explosions and eye candy this one may not be for you. This is in a class of maybe about a dozen movies that I couldn't get out of my head for days after viewing (Requiem for a Dream, Mysterious Skin, There Will Be Blood, American History X, The Machinist, The Wrestler, The Shawshank Redemption, Road to Perdition, The Green Mile, The Prestige, Unbreakable, Revolutionary Road, Amores Perros, Happiness) Also Emmanuelle Sieigner may have the sexiest voice/accent that I have ever heard. She's a real babe in this one.Highly Recommended: 9.5/10

Having just finished seeing this film I came to the message boards for answers, and only found others seeking the same thing. A vivid hallucinatory dream can feel like reality, with the imagery powerful, but undecipherable even to the dreamer. I conclude that this film was of this genre, a nightmare made into a public event, a film to be seen by all who can take it. Given the genre, given that it is valuable for someone to be into someone else's nightmare rather than their own, it is an admirable work of art. We go wrong when we ask for real world logic, where the bodies of large dead men do not disappear, and may not be taken away piece by piece on a bus. Dreams follow no such logic. They are there to allow a reconfiguration of reality into some kind of a resolution.The central riveting element for me was Francis' love affair with Gloria. She was luscious, kind, accepting, admiring and always there for him. (If that's not a clue that this is a dream fantasy, then what is?) His sexual pleasure was best when at a distance, through a telescope, only to be made flesh onto flesh with fear and reluctance on his part.There is a great word "verisimilitude" that describes the degree that a dramatic presentation approximates reality. It is usually considered a necessity, even though each work is allowed a degree of poetic license to vary from this for the purposes of dramatic effect."Buddy Boy," gets zero on the verisimilitude scale of actual life, as Francis is right not to believe that a girl like Gloria could actually love him. But this scale of realism has a different set of rules in nightmare films such as this. The only reality that must be sustained is emotional engagement, a working out of some unknown outside existence through the flashes of imagery that both intrude upon and advance the dream work.Francis, whoever he is when awake, is a suffering human being forsaken by God, family and the world around him. He also has come to believe that Jesus, whom he says gave his life for love of humanity, actually despises him. It is a world of kidnapped children whom he can not save, and vegans who kill and eat human beings.And yet, in the midst of all of this horror, he found someone to love him. No wonder he is reluctant to wake up.

Warning, this has a few spoilers to do with the plot.It was about eleven o'clock at night, and me and my parents were watching T.V, when Buddy Boy came on. I was trying to evade being sent to bed, so feigned interest for the rather boring first ten to fifteen minutes, showing the routine of the main characters life. However, it begins to get rather interesting after that, it's a film where you sit on the edge of your seat, riveted watching the screen, just waiting for Frances to a.Kill someone, b.Go mad, or c.Shout a lot. Aidan Gillen is incredibly good as the shy, reclusive Frances. There are a few plot holes in the story, like how many parties Frances's girlfriend appears to have. The ending to this film is a classic, and the whole movie has a dark, spooky atmosphere, and certainly leaves you with a lot to think about. I still don't understand all that business with that little girl he sees in the photograph. What's all that about?

This disturbing and hilarious film achieves a delicate balance of the macabre and the absurd. At times it approaches satire, but its ultimate dramatic intensity belies a more serious study of faith and alienation. The performances of Aidan Gillen, as Francis, the lonely introvert voyeur, and Susan Tyrrell, his abusive mother, are exceptional. The production design and cinematography together create a strange and haunting world. One particularly interesting element is the use of sound to convey the protagonist's changing psychological perspective. Overall, this film has the unusual characteristic of staying with you long after you've seen it. I would highly recommend it.