Directed by:
Neil Jordan
Starring:
Cillian Murphy ………. Patrick (Patricia) ‘Kitten’ Braden
Liam Neeson ………. Father Bernard
Stephen Rea ………. Bertie
Brendan Gleeson ………. John-Joe
Gavin Friday ………. Billy Hatchet
Laurence Kinlan ………. Irwin
Ruth Negga ………. Charlie
Ruth McCabe ………. Ma Braden
Sony Pictures Classics presents a film written and directed by Neil Jordan. Based on the novel by Pat McCabe. Running time: 129 minutes. Rated R (for sexuality, language, some violence and scenes of drug use). Available on DVD: April 18, 2006
Based on the novel by Pat McCabe by the same name, Breakfast on Pluto is the second time director Neil Jordan has adapted McCabe’s work. Initially the story was about Patrick and him keeping a journal that covered important times of his life and served as his own form or therapy to help get things off his chest, Breakfast does a wonderful job at taking the book and instead of adapting it in to a three act film chose to instead as it states at the start of the film focus on 36 chapters from his life. the episodic nature of it allows for things to no longer have to go by the standard pacing in modern films. Instead allows Patrick and us to go on the journey as a series of small stories that when played in a row happen to take the form of a film.
Patrick Braden was a small boy raised in a small town on the Irish boarder who when he was just a baby was left at the door steps of Father Bernard (Liam Neeson) who in turn left him in the care of a local foster mother. Growing up Patrick knew he was different from the other boys, trying on his foster mothers dress, shoes and make-up never feeling comfortable as a boy. Going as far to imagine himself playing rugby in a gown. The older he gets the more and more he begins to question the whereabouts of his parents but more specifically his mother, why she left him, why she never returned to see him. The only lead he has is that she looked like the actress Mitzi Gaynor and moved to the big city of London after dropping him off at Father Bernard’s.
He also has this fascination with Saint Cettin whom he names himself after (Kitten) who was an acolyte of Saint Patrick and wore a dress and is unknown if the saint was a man or woman.
With his foster family never able to understand who he is and are ashamed of what he’s become he chooses to leave home for something better, to find someone who will accept and love him. So he goes on a trip to search for his mother. But he never goes about it in a normal way, instead he chooses to go about the journey like a viewer or reader looking at his life story as if it were happening to someone else in another world. He pretends it’s all a fairy tale happening to someone else because otherwise he might start to cry and never stop. The most we ever hear of this more elaborate look at his story is it’s about a phantom lady who went to the big city that never sleeps and was swallowed up whole. He goes looking for her in London but it’s not about if he finds her or not, like every other film its the journey. It’s the journey that allows him to discover the true meaning of why he went out there to look for her in the first place. And all of the colorful characters he encounters along the way.
It’s a fairy tale, a twisted and devastating fairy tale mind you, but a fairy tale none the less.
Murphy’s work here is the best he’s ever done. He manages to pull off the cross-dressing character believably which is above all else the most important part of the story, to not make the character feel foreign or off putting. Life served Kitten a bad hand and he’s making the best with what he has taking the world in stride. This is a story driven by character and Kitten is one of the most enjoyable characters to watch of all last year.
Some of that has to do with his relationships through the years with characters like Billy Hatchet (Gavin Friday) a lead singer of a traveling cover band, Bertie (Stephen Rea) a magician who goes by the stage name “The Amazing Albert”, and John-Joe (Brendan Gleeson) a disgruntled childrens theme park employee. He can’t help falling for the first person who shows him some respect and understanding, he just wants to be loved and accepted.
The important thing to take from the character is that he feels like he doesn’t fit not only in his own body, but in the world that surrounds him. He always wants to take things in stride and never with any seriousness, the word serious represents everything Kitten wants to stay away from. He just want to enjoy life and the only way to do that is embrace the way he sees how things should progress. And it’s that thinking that in many ways saves his life in the film, people look at him and wish they could have the type of outlook and freedom he has as a person always unable to do anything harmful to him. Maybe he’s closer to that sainthood than he thinks.
There is no specific color scheme to the movie and there’s a reason for that, because Kitten brought color everywhere he went. Another noticeable choice of photography and cinematography are the use or mirrors and reflections along with multiple actors in frame making scenes much more intimate and dynamic. But the most important thing that separates this film from so many others is the audio selection which flawlessly captures both the scene, story and the era with perfection. the songs used for the soundtrack are there to not only replace a score but help provide a voice that is as innocent as Kitten’s but also to help move the story along. This is the single best choice the director made as it adds so much more depth to the film and is the best alternative for a story with so many chapters to it with songs chosen specifically for each one.
We saw plenty of press last year covering about how “in” it was for films to look at homosexuality (Brokeback Mountain) and Transsexuals (Transamerica) but why they chose to throw Breakfast on Pluto in to the mix is beyond me. It’s as if they took it for face value as a transvestite/transsexual film and left it at that as to help inflate the number of films covering once thought taboo subjects to prove their case. As if these were the first films to ever cover such topics. And I think it was that kind of press that gave the three films a bad wrap. They’re not about the sexuality or lifestyle choices of the characters, they’re about the characters period, it just so happens that certain aspects in their lives tend to be about those subjects.
Breakfast on Pluto was in and out of theaters with little notice. If you blinked chances are you missed the opportunity to see this gem on the big screen, but now you have the opportunity to sit down in the comfort of your own living room and experience one of the most overlooked films of 2005.
Story: 8/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Look/Feel: 8/10
Originality: 7.5/10
Entertainment Value: 7.5/10
Total: 39.5/50
FINAL Score: 8/10
Arriving in a standard amaray keepcase Breakfast on Pluto comes with an insert promoting other films on the Sony Classics label currently available on DVD like Thumbsucker, Capote, and Junebug. The menus are static anamorphic widescreen, one interesting thing about the main menu is there is no language option, instead in its place is one for subtitles, which makes sense considering the English 5.1 track is the only audio available on the disc. The DVD is broken up in to 28 Chapters.
Video:
(Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen)
The films DVD release is handled very well just like the rest of the titles put out on Sony’s “Classics” label and sadly has the same inherent flaws with some plainly noticeable dirt on the print which is generally caused by their lower budgets. The upside however is there is little to no edge enhancement and the video is rich and vibrant. So the good greatly outweighs the bad here.
Score: 7.5/10
Audio:
(English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround)
As I mentioned above, the soundtrack is such an integral part of the movie for it to be represented poorly here could have brought the overall enjoyment of the film down. Such is not the case as the audio is handled well, not perfect but very satisfying. I say not very well because the rear speakers and bass could have been used to more effect and not feel so neglected. The dialog comes out clear and balances out wonderfully with the songs.
Score: 8.0/10
Extras:
The main selling point for the extras is a Feature Length Commentary with Director Neil Jordan and Cillian Murphy. The commentary is a very confusing listen, and it has nothing to do with the participants deep Irish accents, it the fact they sound strikingly similar and at times it’s unclear who’s speaking. Even more confusing is that at the start it feels like they’re being recorded separately, where there is a break making you assume they’re inter splicing the two recordings. It’s easy to try and figure out who is speaking as Jordan covers the story and filming parts while Cillian talks his experience acting in the film. But then all of a sudden the two men are conversing with one another laughing at jokes which makes me wonder if this was first suppose to be some type of scene specific track that eventually transformed in to the two men just talking to one another. Around half way through the film it’s easier to go along with the track but then the other problem pops up which is the fact the commentary track is played over the film without the films volume turned down and is clearly audible through the entire commentary. So you have the two men who sound very alike, their deep Irish accents along with the film itself to contend with while watching and listening. Not a fun experience in the slightest.
The only other thing of substance you’ll find on the DVD is a Behind the Scenes of Breakfast on Pluto featurette (8:53) that has the director, producer and cast members being interviewed about the film. They become much more intimate about the films subject matter than other “making-of” pieces you might find on other DVD’s and are very personal with their opinions but just when the piece begins to pick up and get very interesting to watch, it’s over leaving you wanting more. Like an appetizer to a main coarse that’s never going to be served. Considering the films content it’s hard to imagine this is the best the DVD producers could come up with.
That’s all there is, well that along with 14 Previews for films like The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Art School Confidential, Cache, Why We Fight, Capote, The White Countess, Thumbsucker, Junebug, The Passenger, Memoirs of a Geisha, London, The Dying Gaul, The Squid and the Whale, and The Tenants.
It feels like this is the first title put out on the Sony Classics label in a long time that hasn’t been given the treatment it deserves from the studio, which is a real let down if you ask me given their track record with recent film that didn’t exactly rake in cash at the box office yet gave their DVD a five star treatment. What happened here Sony?
Score: 4/10
