Film Review: Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
Irish Actor Cillian Murphy Stars in Neil Jordan's Adaptation of Pat McCabe Novel
May 9, 2009
Cillian Murphy accepted quite a challenge when he agreed to star in Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Breakfast on Pluto, originally a novel by Irish writer Pat McCabe. In order to embody his character, Patrick “Kitten” Braden, Murphy had to adopt a very different look and embrace his feminine side. The result is impressive, and even earned Murphy a Golden Globe nomination for best actor (musical or comedy).
The Life and Times of Patrick “Kitten” Braden
Breakfast on Pluto follows the life of Patrick Braden (played by Cillian Murphy), an innocent and imaginative young man from small-town Northern Ireland. He leaves home in the 1970s to go to London in search of his mother, a Mitzi Gaynor lookalike, and to free himself from the scrutiny he suffers as a result of his unique appearance.
Patrick has no problem finding adventure – he falls in love with a rock and roll singer (Gavin Friday), becomes a magician’s (Stephen Rea) sidekick, becomes inadvertently involved with the IRA, gets arrested and imprisoned, and then takes up a job at a peep show parlour, where his father, Father Liam (Liam Neeson) finally finds him. All the while, his best friend Charlie (Ruth Negga) is pregnant and trying to keep up with Patrick. A complicated situation, to say the least.
Breakfast on Pluto a Strong Adaptation
Although it is very different from the novel in many ways, Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Breakfast on Pluto is a strong and effective one. While the storyline of the film builds more on the whimsy of Patrick’s life, and keeps the danger and horror of the IRA in Ireland during the 70s at more of an arm’s length, the film stays very true to Patrick’s character, who naively endangers himself over and again, and somehow always comes out smiling.
The ending of Breakfast on Pluto is quite different from book to film, but Jordan’s choices as a director are intuitive and spot-on when it comes to maintaining the consistency of Patrick’s character from start to end. And because of the inherently sad side of Patrick’s existence as an individual caught somewhere between man and woman, never fully accepted nor fully accepting of himself, Neil Jordan’s decision to go with a happier ending leaves audiences more hopeful, filled with a breath of fresh air.
Breakfast on Pluto Trivia
- Gavin Friday, who plays rock star Billy Hatchett, is actually a singer/songwriter from Dublin, Ireland – he was part of the band The Virgin Prunes, and now has a successful solo career.
- Novelist Patrick McCabe and his wife, Ruth, both have cameo appearances in Breakfast on Pluto, Patrick as Peepers Egan, the schoolmaster, and Ruth as Ma Braden.
- Actors Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea have worked together before, on the Irish film On the Edge.
- Actress Eva Birthistle, who plays Patrick’s mother in Breakfast on Pluto, is actually only two years older than Cillian Murphy.
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