BREAKFAST ON PLUTO (R) ***1/2

 

Directed by Neil Jordan. 129 minutes.

Starring Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Rea, Liam Neeson, Ian Hart, Ruth Negga and Gavin Friday. Released by Sony Pictures Classics.

 

In a sense, Breakfast on Pluto is the film that Neil Jordan has been working up to his whole career. Stylistically and thematically, the film is sort of a compilation of prior stories and ideas that the director has included in his films, mixed into one. Jordan has already dealt with the London underworld and prostitutes (Mona Lisa), transgender characters and the IRA (The Crying Game) and adapting Patrick McCabe novels (The Butcher Boy). Pluto is a transgender Forrest Gump, of sorts, in which its lead character- Patrick “Kitten” Braden wanders into all sorts of historical situations and meets all types of oddball characters in 1970s London and Ireland, inadvertently getting himself caught up in the mix between IRA terrorists and London police. I’m not sure the film has a deep, meaningful message as The Crying Game did, but that is OK. Jordan has taken on heavy topics in the past and is allowed to have some fun. So are we.

 

 The film is divided into 30 or so chapter headings that become more sardonic as they continue. They are, of course, written by “Kitten,” who also narrates parts of the film in hilarious voice over. He, or she, is played by Cillian Murphy, an unknown three years ago, but now a rising star after turns in 28 Days Later, Batman Begins and Red Eye. Here, Murphy proves his diversity as an actor. “Kitten” is an idiot savant, kind of. He outwits everyone around him, but is hopelessly naïve about anything political or social, other than what clothes are fashionable. As a young boy, his troubles begin when he is caught wearing a dress by his adopted mother, who threatens to flog him in front of his entire small Irish town. “You promise?” he asks devilishly.

 

“Kitten” is kicked out of high school after writing a saucy tale of how he was conceived, which includes the seduction of a young cleaning lady by his father, a priest (Liam Neeson). The film is picaresque stylistically, so “Kitten” can jump from one adventure to another, meeting a number of odd characters, including a magician (Stephen Rea), a glam rock star (Gavin Friday) who gives “Kitten” a hilarious role in his band and a brutish cop (Ian Hart) who sort of later takes a turn for the nice. All the while, “Kitten” continues to get dragged into the midst of rising troubles between Ireland and England. He first sleeps at the home of Friday’s rock star character, which is really a safety den for a stash of ammunition for the IRA. Then, a mentally retarded friend of “Kitten” is blown up when a bomb is set in his hometown. Later, one of his childhood friends joins the IRA and, finally, “Kitten” is mistaken for a bomber when a nightclub in which he is dancing blows up.

 

As I mentioned earlier, there is not so much a recurring theme in the film politically. “Kitten” becomes a father figure, of sorts, in the later parts of the film and has a reconnect with his family, which works as character development, but the film itself is thematically spread about. However, “Kitten” also criticizes people- the police, the IRA, priests, his family and friends- when they get too “serious.” Politically naïve, maybe, but “Kitten” may have a point for not wanting to get involved with “serious” matters, when they include getting roughed up by police (which he does) for being Irish, blown up for being in the wrong place in the wrong time or shot in the back of the head for informing to the police (another character does). While Forrest Gump may not have been on the same page with history because of mental shortages, “Kitten” refuses to even open the book. Pluto may not use politics to reflect on human nature, as he did beautifully in The Crying Game, but he showers the film with a load of 1970s glam rock, a sharp sense of humor, great cinematography, colorful sets and a frenzied pace, as well as getting a strong performance out of Murphy. It may not be a full course meal, but Breakfast will give you plenty to chew on.