Breakfast on Pluto

Cillian Murphy disappears into the role of Patrick “Kitty” Brady in this chaotic film from director Neil Jordan. Brady is a cross dresser from Ireland whose misadventures include a stint in a bizarre rock band (with Gavin Friday as the lead singer) and being the assistant of a morbid magician (Jordan mainstay Stephen Rea). His adventures occur while on a quest to find his Mum, who apparently looks a lot like film star Mitzi Gaynor. Liam Neeson works nicely as a sad priest, and singer Bryan Ferry makes the creepiest of creepy appearances as a guy who gets a little out of hand. Murphy shows off some major versatility here, taking a detour from past roles and making Kitty a character of great interest. Jordan’s film is being called a companion piece to his brilliant The Butcher Boy, both based on books by author Pat McCabe. The movies are similar in tone, dark with sudden blasts of bizarre humor. The film goes off the rails on occasion, but is quite entertaining when it works.