oscar jubis
01-02-2006, 12:21 AM
Patrick (Cillian Murphy) is a "Nancy boy" who likes to be called Kitten. Kitten is himself only when wearing female clothes and he's known that since he was a little kid. He's quite aware, growing up Catholic in 1960s Ireland, that few approve of him. This is rather inconsequential to the cheerful youngster. He falls for a glam rocker who's hiding weapons for the IRA; he even gets to do vocals until some band members think it's bad for their image. But what preoccupies Kitten most is finding his real parents. His severe foster mother tells him he was dropped off at the church run by Father Bernard (Liam Neeson) when he was a baby. In his late teens, he finds out mother's name; she's said to resemble Mitzi Gaynor and live in London now. He says goodbye to his friends, a fiercely loyal group of lovable misfits, and travels to London. While inquiring about mother's whereabouts, Kitten earns a living serially by assisting a magician (Stephen Rea), wearing an animal costume at a kiddie park, just like his buddy John-Joe (Brendan Neeson), hooking a little, and finally working at a peep show. Kitten experiences heartbreak and trouble (he's even suspected of being an IRA member after a bomb explodes at the club he frequents) but he's a glass-is-half-full, luv-me-I'm-swell creature and nothing fazes him. This Kitten may be limp-wristed but he's tough as nails. Cillian Murphy's performance is a tour-de-force. You won't be able to take your eyes off him. I hope his Golden Globes nomination will be followed by a nod from our Academy. That would guarantee some attention to a picture that needs it, and deserves it.
Those relatively few lucky people who watched Butcher Boy (1997), the first collaboration between director Neil Jordan and novelist Pat McCabe, won't be disappointed with Breakfast on Pluto. McCabe appropriated the title of Don Partrige's pop song and Jordan has appropriately sustained a light tone throughout this outsider's tale, his specialty. The brilliant use of popular music here puts Mr. Jordan in rarefied company: Scorsese, Kar-Wai and Assayas, directors who love pop music and have a knack for marrying song and image to amplify meaning. The soundtrack perfectly matches the tale's emotions and moods; tender and melancholic for a moment, then raunchy and sassy, but ultimately bouncy and giddy. Among the standouts: The Rubettes' "Sugar Baby Love", T-Rex's "Children of the Revolution", Patti Page's "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window", Dusty Springfield's "The Windmills of Your Mind", and Van Morrison's "Cypress Avenue" and "Madame George".
Breakfast on Pluto is the rare movie that made me feel-good without hiding what would get one down. The troubles, political and personal, are surely on display but Kitten (and Jordan) hurdles them with a confident smile and an open heart.
In the corner playing dominoes in drag
the one and only Madame George
and then from outside the frosty window raps
She jumps up and says Lord have mercy it's the cops
and immediately drops everything she gots
down into the street below.
And you know you gotta go
on the train from Dublin up to Sandy Row
throwing pennies at the bridges down below
and the rain, hail, sleet and snow.
Say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George.
(Van Morrison)
Those relatively few lucky people who watched Butcher Boy (1997), the first collaboration between director Neil Jordan and novelist Pat McCabe, won't be disappointed with Breakfast on Pluto. McCabe appropriated the title of Don Partrige's pop song and Jordan has appropriately sustained a light tone throughout this outsider's tale, his specialty. The brilliant use of popular music here puts Mr. Jordan in rarefied company: Scorsese, Kar-Wai and Assayas, directors who love pop music and have a knack for marrying song and image to amplify meaning. The soundtrack perfectly matches the tale's emotions and moods; tender and melancholic for a moment, then raunchy and sassy, but ultimately bouncy and giddy. Among the standouts: The Rubettes' "Sugar Baby Love", T-Rex's "Children of the Revolution", Patti Page's "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window", Dusty Springfield's "The Windmills of Your Mind", and Van Morrison's "Cypress Avenue" and "Madame George".
Breakfast on Pluto is the rare movie that made me feel-good without hiding what would get one down. The troubles, political and personal, are surely on display but Kitten (and Jordan) hurdles them with a confident smile and an open heart.
In the corner playing dominoes in drag
the one and only Madame George
and then from outside the frosty window raps
She jumps up and says Lord have mercy it's the cops
and immediately drops everything she gots
down into the street below.
And you know you gotta go
on the train from Dublin up to Sandy Row
throwing pennies at the bridges down below
and the rain, hail, sleet and snow.
Say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George.
(Van Morrison)