Dir. Neil Jordan, 2005, Ireland/UK, 135 mins
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea, Bryan Ferry
It was perhaps only a matter of time before Neil Jordan revisited his highly successful combination of IRA based drama and cross dressing, previously seen to Oscar winning effect in The Crying Game. Jordan’s great skill at weaving seemingly disparate elements to form a compelling story is brought to the fore in Breakfast on Pluto with a seemingly unconnected group of characters thrown together in what is ultimately a warmly triumphant story.
Based on the novel by Pat McCabe (whose previous novel, ‘The Butcher Boy’ was also adapted and filmed by Jordan), Breakfast on Pluto is the tale of Patrick (Murphy), a transsexual who, over the course of 36 captioned segments, searches for his mother. It’s a journey that takes him away from the comparative safety of Ireland (and significantly the reassuring presence of the church) and into the seamy underworld of seventies London.
It is refreshing to see that Cillian Murphy hasn’t been totally swallowed up by Hollywood just yet. Fresh from his effective performances in slick, high budget fare like Redeye and Batman Begins, he takes the lead with gusto, clearly relishing the chance to shine in a role that might easily have descended into quickly tiresome camp cliché. In a part that requires effeminate flamboyance mixed with moments of delicately played emotional truth (often within the same scene) Murphy’s performance is the lynchpin of the film. Witty and articulate yet sensitive and intelligent, Patrick’s journey (both geographical and emotional) allows him to be the kind of small scale hero whose triumph is shared with the audience.
Liam Neeson continues his run of playing authority figures, here providing a reassuring presence as Patrick’s kindly mentor. His relationship with the lead character is subtle and refreshingly unforced. Given the potential for a revelatory scene it is a relief that the audience is not hammered over the head with what could easily have become an overly politicised statement.
The film manages to capture a superb sense of the early seventies glam rock period. Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh’s stunning costume design gives the film a flamboyant, extravagant look that never passes the bounds of reality. The obvious trap of using the period setting to dress the cast in ridiculous gear is deftly avoided. The seventies might often be labeled the decade that style forgot but such sweeping generalizations have no place in a truthful evocation of those times like this.
The use of soundtrack is similarly well judged, with obvious songs of the period shunned for the more obscure but interesting choices. They provide a pleasing backdrop to the film which isn’t actually musical but contains a warm, underplayed sense of theatricality.
Midway through the film Jordan uses Bryan Ferry, a figure best know for his avant-garde music of the 1970’s, in a highly effective cameo. Making capital from the fact that Ferry has become an establishment figure, far removed from his slightly more subversive persona of the past, his brief contribution gives the film at once respite and a dangerous sense of mystery.
Despite his occasionally erratic forays into mainstream cinema, Breakfast on Pluto is the kind of film that Neil Jordan knows how to make well. His adherence to the book (as mentioned, the narrative is punctuated by chapter headings) gives the film a strong sense of structure and purpose. A pleasing journey that despite an extended running time never gets tedious, other films released in 2006 will be hard pressed to match Breakfast on Pluto’s delightful blend of humour and emotional pathos.
Jonathan Wilkins
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