Symbolic World Analysis of the Boondock Saints

Symbolic World Analysis

Of

The Boondock Saints

In The Boondock Saints, two brothers, Conner and Murphy McManus are in a situation where they believe that they are being called upon by God to kill criminals. The story line begins with them in a Roman Catholic Church where the pastor is preaching about a great evil, the "indifference of good men." The two live in an Irish neighborhood in Boston where the Russian mob is trying to take over. It is St. Patrick's Day, so the two brothers go out to a local pub to celebrate and the Russian mobsters enter to start a fight. Later the brothers are attacked by the mob and turn out to be local heroes for killing the two Russian mobsters. They turn themselves in to the police and by the following morning the charges are dropped for reason of self-defense. During the night at the police station, God calls upon them to take action against evil men. Their first target is the Russian syndicate; they assassinate the leader along with his henchmen. Later, with the help of their mutual friend Rocco, an Italian mob bag man, they start to eliminate every person seen to them as being evil.

The police, with the help of an FBI agent cannot figure out who is killing all of the lowlifes in the area. They become very stressed out because organized crime is systematically being eradicated by assassination. As the movie progresses the FBI agent figures out who the assassins are and starts to believe that what the brothers are doing is right. In the end, with the help of the police, the FBI agent and their father the brothers rid their neighborhood of the Italian mafia boss.

Is the McManus' use of murder justified? Can one actually move about our society like a comic hero and kill "bad men"? In our society we believe in incarceration for the sick minded and evil. To receive capital punishment one needs to plan and execute a murder. This vigilante murdering spree would be unacceptable in the United States and they would be put on death row.

The God lens* is noticed from the beginning, when they are in church. Connor and Murphy McManus are portrayed as being strongly religious men. Throughout the movie they are spoken to by God and ordered to act in what they believe is God's will. In one scene they even kiss Jesus' feet on a crucifix