Choice: Film: The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy, on general release

As Ryan Gilbey wrote, "the most heartening aspect of The Butcher Boy is that it represents Neil Jordan's return to what his first three films - Angel, The Company of Wolves and Mona Lisa - proved he does better than any other film-maker of his generation. In his hands, the familiar seems grotesque and entrancing and seductive. He is a born dreamer; his dreams have the weight of life." Made in 1982 in Eire, Angel was regularly cited as signalling an Eighties renaissance in British cinema. The Company of Wolves, Angela Carter's psychosexual horror-fairytale did wonders to further the reputations of both Jordan and his producers at Palace Pictures. The big time didn't suit him, however, and High Spirits could have been sued under the Trades Descriptions Act while Interview with the Vampire, for all the published affidavits from author Anne Rice, looked like it had bottled out. As Gary Glitter might have said, it's good to be back.