BA DeMorte's Faerytales

IL Duce:

I usually have a clever little title to reflect what I feel represents the character I’m reviewing. I’m using the actual title that is attached to the character in the movie, because you just can’t mess with perfection. Billy Connolly plays Noah MacManus in Boondock Saints 1 and 2, and he is Il Duce or The Duke.

Noah Macmanus starts out as man of mystery. In the Hoag prison he is just known by a number and a very scary reputation. (Getting chained to a rolling board, with guns trained on you at every level, and a cage lowered down….for a parole hearing? Yep, scary.)The mob speaks of him in hushed whispers as if afraid to summon him.One man referred to him as a “Fucking Monster”. That I don’t see. He has elements of a monster, but so does a superhero. What he is to them is their Boogeyman. The thing that they are afraid is hiding in the closet or under the bed waiting grab them. 

When you find out more about Noah you realize that in a way he is broken. Something made his soul crack. Instead of taking it out on the world or crumpling into himself, he uses this crack to make the world a better place by purging it of corrupt, evil men. He has rules:  no women and no children. (Smecker decision to dress in drag to get into Papa Joe’s house was a smarter one than he intended.) He does this with a cold, business like manner. That is not to say that he  is passionless. Unlike his boys, Noah has been able to control it and get the job done without blinking. He also does this with an elegance and flare that shows that the original needs no improvement. His patience and wisdom helps him to deal with surprises and of course his boys. He is the guardian that watches out for family and friends. (I suspect he was the one that made sure Eunice had a safe place to go, when she got in trouble for helping them.) He calmly walks into the fire, accepting that if this time death claims him, he is doing what is right with dignity of a true Irish gentleman.