Mickybo and Me

Butch and Sundance in juvenile form rampage around Belfast in the 1970s, perceiving everything except the cruel reality that strictly separates Protestants and Catholics. Under the influence of their movie-inspired escapism, they decide to make a real escape. The unfeasibility of their hazily thought-out trip to Australia is outweighed by their tremendous enthusiasm and naïveté. Straddling the line between British social dramas (Kes, Billy Elliot), “escape” road movies (Paper Moon, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door) and westerns (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Mickeybo and Me is the most self-assured when it just wants to entertain. The attempt at a truthful depiction of the situation in Belfast and within families living in the city primarily comes across as formulaic. I found the film pleasing in its ways, though I was also disappointed by the ending, which doesn’t fit into the given formula and elicits very mixed emotions (joy? sorrow?). As lighter fare that didn’t cost you much to watch it (or, ideally, anything), it works well enough. 70% (2011-06-10)