Breakfast on Pluto
9
This film is sort of like what you might see if you crossed Hedwig with In the Name of the Father. Cillian Murphy quite adeptly plays a boy who is raised within the confines of the Catholic faith after being abandoned and realizes from an early age that he’d be more comfortable living his life as a girl. This has a much different feel to it than say Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education as there really is much more of a religious reconciliation. Although the church as a whole clearly doesn’t understand Patricia/Patrick, there is a real human empathy that shows through with Liam Neeson’s character in particular.
Cillian Murphy plays the role as someone who acts both naive and a little lost. He often finds himself involved in political situations relating to the IRA in which he is an innocent bystander who becomes wrapped into trouble. He is sweet and endearing but somewhat removed from reality. He has no grudges or anger but is just someone that wishes life could be different and who ultimately lives in somewhat of a fairytale reality hoping to find the mother who abondoned him by searching in the large city of London that he fears could have swallowed her up.
The film’s music is also interesting and is at its best when it takes a glam tone consistent with the popular genre of the time. One of the highlights is hearing the T Rex tune “Children of the Revolution.” In terms of cinematography, several scenes struck me. The Irish neighborhood he grows up in is very real but also when Cillian thinks he sees his mom on the tube and the colors are all suddenly washed out as he sees her leave was effective in conveying the emotion of the scene. Jordan even adds some commentary of actual birds (conveyed with subtitles) which somehow works visually within the confines of the film. A bit of a literary feel is also added by dividing the film into chapters signified by a scrawl of writing, which may have been Jordan’s way of adapting the film from Pat McCabe’s novel.
Breakfast on Pluto is also complemented by the performances of a couple of supportive actors’ performances namely by Liam Neeson (does he ever age?) and Ruth Negga. I would have liked to have seen more of Ruth Negga in particular and hope she is offered more leading roles in the future. This is a film that is what it is because of Cillian Murphy’s acting, though, who continues to show an increasingly larger range and promise as an actor.
My only criticism of this film is a small one. I would have enjoyed more of a first person perspective and it was disjointed and slightly jarring in parts to switch from really trying to understanding Patrick/Patricia to trying to figure out how all of these of the other indirect political events were going to affect him.