Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: ***BREAKFAST ON PLUTO***

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    4,843

    ***BREAKFAST ON PLUTO***

    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)
    Last edited by oscar jubis; 01-02-2006 at 12:23 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    Excellence.


    You breathe in, you breathe out...
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    4,843
    Now that's what I'm talking about! Van was such a wise old-man at age 21, when he released his classic "Astral Weeks" album. Breakfast on Pluto borrows its empathy for the sassy and bright outsider/misfit.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,627
    There is a huge following for this film at IMDB. I checked on the rumor that it will be released later this month on DVD. Neither Amazon nor DVDverdict.com is offering a release date; only stating "look to this site for future announcements" type thing. Many fans at IMDB want Cillian Murphy nominated. That would put him at odds with your favorite, Oscar; Phillip Hoffman and mine, Strathairn. However, consensus is that this is Heath Ledger's year with three good films under his belt: Lords, Casanova, and Brokeback Mtn. (just forget he also starred in Brothers Grimm)

    2005 was a strong year for fresh male faces in cinema

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    4,843
    Hi, cinemabon. You're right, Sony Pictures Classics has yet to announce dvd release date for Breakfast on Pluto. This is because they don't know yet how long the film will be on current release. If Cillian Murphy gets an Oscar nomination, or improbably wins an Emmy, the film would go on wider release. There's also the element of word-of-mouth, which might help to keep it in theatres longer. It's a good, and very pleasant film (just my opinion), and like Brokeback Mountain could be enjoyed by folks that would normally avoid gay-themed movies.

    I think Oscar nominations are important because they create publicity for films that need it. Breakfast on Pluto certainly does. I happen to think Murphy will NOT get an Oscar nom. I think the "sure-things" are Hoffman and Ledger and one of them will deservedly win. The other three noms are being contested by: Strathairn, Crowe (Cinderella Man), Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow), Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale) and J. Phoenix (Walk the Line). Dark Horses:Murphy and Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence).

    If I was voting: Ledger, Hoffman, Murphy, Crowe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin). It's kind of weird I guess that four of these actors are playing characters who are gay, but it's certainly not by design.
    Last edited by oscar jubis; 01-06-2006 at 01:31 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,627
    Sure it is.... wink, wink, nod, nod (Monty Python)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    I feel like Michael Corleone: THEY PULL ME BACK IN

    With writers as keen as Chris and Oscar and Arsaib & Trevor...
    You bastards...


    Van can be damn proud of Astral Weeks.
    Timeless.

    It's given me a lot of comfort over the years. (and so has Mary Jane).


    Seeing Kong today. My buddy Brent went to see it with his new honey pie and he was RAVING:

    It's Kongage! MASS KONGAGE!
    Got the day off, gonna

    pick it, pack it
    FIRE IT UP
    Come along: and TAKE HITS FROM THE BONG



    all night long..
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    4,843
    Please post about KONG (and PLUTO if u see it). Why do I hate so many big, expensive Hollywood movies and love Peter Jackson's ones so much?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,627
    You left yourself wide open on that one Oscar... I just couldn't...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,627
    I'm a bad boy (spank, spank)... bad boy...

    ("Family Guy")

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    4,843
    I did leave myself open, didn't I? No prob, cinemabon. Who knows maybe I'll turn 50 and discover something new about myself :))

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Ottawa Canada
    Posts
    5,656
    Seeing Kong again on Fri.

    It's worth seeing several times- on the BIG screen. Will post a review after I see it again.

    I find it's good to see a film a few times in order to get a decent handle on what the filmmaker was up to.
    And in this case, Jackson was up to dethroning Spielberg in the LARGE MOVIE genre.
    "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •