Breakfast on Pluto (film)
| Breakfast on Pluto | |
|---|---|
 UK theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Neil Jordan |
| Written by | Neil Jordan Pat McCabe |
| Based on | Breakfast on Pluto by Pat McCabe |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Declan Quinn |
| Edited by | Tony Lawson |
| Music by | Anna Jordan |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Pathé Distribution[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes[1] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.9 million[2] |
Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005
Plot
The film is divided into 36 chapters. In the fictional Irish town of Tyrellin, bordering Northern Ireland in the late 1970s, cartoon robins narrate as Patrick Braden's mother, Eily Bergin, leaves her baby on the doorstep of the local parochial house, where his father, Father Liam, lives.
Patrick is placed with an unloving foster mother. Male at birth, young Patrick is later shown donning a dress and lipstick, which angers her foster family. Patrick is accepted by her close friends, Charlie, Irwin, and Lawrence, as well as by Lawrence's father, who tells Patrick that Eily looked like blonde American movie star Mitzi Gaynor.
In Patrick's late teens, Patrick gets into trouble in school by writing explicit fiction imagining how she was conceived by her parents and inquiring about where to get a sex change. Patrick comes out as transgender, renames herself Kitten, also going by Patricia, and approaches Father Liam in confession, asking about Eily, but is rebuffed.
Kitten runs away from home, catching a ride with a glam rock band, Billy Hatchet and the Mohawks, and flirting with leader Billy. He installs the lovestruck, homeless Kitten in a trailer, where she discovers he's hiding guns for the IRA.
Meanwhile, Irwin has begun to work with the IRA, much to his now-girlfriend Charlie's dismay. Kitten dismisses Irwin's politics as "serious, serious, serious," but after Lawrence is killed by police detonating a suspected IRA car bomb, she tosses their gun cache into a lake.
Billy abandons Kitten to flee the IRA, forcing her to face the "serious, serious, serious," men alone. Her lack of connection to their politics saves her from being murdered.
Kitten next journeys to London searching for Eily, but initial inquiries prove fruitless. Penniless, she shelters in a tiny cottage in a park, only to find that it's a children's entertainment park for The Wombles.
Kitten gets a job as a singing, dancing Womble, but immediately loses it when her sponsor and co-worker punches their boss. Forced into prostitution, she is violently attacked by her first client, saving herself from strangulation by spraying him in the eyes with Chanel No. 5.
At a diner, magician Bertie Vaughan asks her what she is writing in her notebook. She explains it's the story of "The Phantom Lady" who was "swallowed up" by the big city, then reveals it's about the mother she is seeking. Bertie hires her to be his magician's assistant, turning her life story into a hypnosis act.
On a romantic day trip, Bertie tries to kiss her and she explains that she's transgender, something he already knew. Soon, Charlie finds Bertie's show and takes Kitten away.
Kitten goes to a club frequented by British soldiers and dances with one, only to be injured when the club is bombed by the IRA. Police discover that Kitten is transgender and Irish, so she is arrested as a suspected terrorist.
Beaten and deprived of sleep, she writes a hyperbolic statement, shown in a fantasy spy film spoof sequence. The police's attitude softens, realising she is innocent, and they release her. With no place to go, Kitten begs to stay in the station, but is tossed into the street.
Kitten is again forced to turn tricks, but is saved by one of the cops who interrogated her. He brings her to a peep show where she transforms herself into a blonde. Her repentant father finds her and in a scene mirroring their confessional one, professes his love and tells Kitten where to find Eily.
She goes to her house posing as a telephone company market researcher and discovers a younger half-brother whose name is also Patrick. She faints upon meeting Eily, but after reviving does not reveal her identity.
When Irwin is killed by the IRA, Kitten goes home to tend to a pregnant Charlie and reconcile with her priest father. The town reacts against the unwed mother and her transgender friend living with him by firebombing the parish house. Kitten and Charlie flee to London.
In the final scene, they run into pregnant Eily and little Patrick at the doctor's office, where Charlie is getting post-natal care. Kitten is friendly, but still doesn't reveal who she is.
Cast
- Cillian Murphy as Patrick/Patricia "Kitten" Braden
- Stephen Rea as Bertie Vaughan
- Brendan Gleeson as John Joe Kenny
- Liam Neeson as Father Liam
- Gavin Friday as Billy Hatchett
- Ruth Negga as Charlie
- Laurence Kinlan as Irwin
- Seamus Reilly as Lawrence Feely
- Eva Birthistle as Eily Bergin
- Ian Hart as PC Wallis
- Steven Waddington as Inspector Routledge
- Ruth McCabe as Ma Braden
- Charlene McKenna as Caroline Braden
- Liam Cunningham as 1st Biker
- Patrick McCabe as Schoolmaster Peepers Egan
- Bryan Ferry as Mr Silky String
- Dominic Cooper as Squaddie at Disco
- Conor McEvoy as young (10-year-old) Patrick Braden
- Emmet Lawlor McHugh as young Irwin
- Bianca O'Connor as young Charlie
- Paraic Breathnachas Benny Feely
- Kevin Halligan as Student #1
- Mary Coughlan, housekeeper
Production
 | This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (January 2024) |
To prepare for the lead role of Kitten, Murphy studied women's body language and for a few weeks met with a transvestite who instructed him and took him out clubbing with friends.[3]
The seaside scene between Kitten and Bertie was considered by some to be an allusion to director Jordan's earlier film The Crying Game,[4] which also involved a transgender major character, the IRA, and actor Stephen Rea. In The Crying Game, Rea's character doesn't realise that the woman he has fallen for and becomes sexually involved with is transgender. In Breakfast on Pluto, Kitten confesses that she's "not a girl" before Rea's character can kiss her, and he says kindly that he already knew, but does not follow through with the kiss.
The author of the novel upon which the film is based, co-screenwriter Patrick McCabe, has a cameo in the film as Kitten's creative writing teacher.[5]
Reception
Critical response
On the
Awards and nominations
For his portrayal of Kitten, Murphy won the 2007
Jordan also won the 2007 IFTA for Best Director and Jordan and McCabe took home the Best Script IFTA.[8]
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
| European Film Awards | Best Actor | Cillian Murphy | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Cillian Murphy | Nominated |
| Golden Trailer Awards | Best Foreign Dramatic Trailer | Nominated | |
| Best Voice Over | Nominated | ||
Irish Film and Television Awards
|
Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film | Cillian Murphy | Won |
| Best Director | Neil Jordan | Won | |
| Best Hair & Make-Up for Film | Glynn, Lorraine, Lynn Johnson
|
Won | |
| Best Script for Film | Neil Jordan, Patrick McCabe | Won | |
| Best Irish Film (Audience Award) | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film | Stephen Rea | Nominated | |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film | Ruth Negga | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Declan Quinn | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design for Film | Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
|
Nominated | |
| Best Film | Alan Moloney, Neil Jordan, Stephen Woolley | Nominated | |
| Best Production Design for Film | Tom Conroy | Nominated | |
| Ljubljana International Film Festival | Audience Award | Neil Jordan | Won |
| National Board of Review | Special Recognition For excellence in filmmaking | Won | |
Satellite Awards
|
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
|
Cillian Murphy | Nominated |
See also
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
- The Crying Game (1992)
References
- ^ a b c d "Breakfast on Pluto". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ "Breakfast on Pluto". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ Kaufman, Anthony. "Blue Streak" Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Time Out New York, 10 November 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
- ^ Stein, Ruthe. "Walking on thin gender line in search of love" Archived 7 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The San Francisco Chronicle, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
- ^ Full cast and crew for Breakfast on Pluto Archived 8 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine IMDb
- ^ "Breakfast on Pluto". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- Fandom, Inc. Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Eva and Cillian take film accolades" Archived 13 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, AOL Entertainment U.K., 12 February 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
Further reading
- Uhlich, Keith (2006). "DVD Review: Breakfast on Pluto". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006.
- Maguire, John. "Interview: Neil Jordan & Pat McCabe (The Rocky Mountain News)". Confessions of a Film Critic. John Maguire.
External links
- Official website
- Breakfast on Pluto at BFI
- Breakfast on Pluto at British Council–Film
- Breakfast on Pluto at Lumiere
- Breakfast on Pluto at IMDb
- Breakfast on Pluto at Box Office Mojo
- Breakfast on Pluto at Rotten Tomatoes
