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Breakfast on Pluto

Had any other actor undertaken the role of Patrick “Kitten” Braden, it would have been a media sensation and probably garnered an Academy Award nod – if not a win for the actor who chose the role. Cillian Murphy, however, undertook the role, and thankfully for the audience he turns it into an actual exercise in acting and not a media stunt. Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto, based on the Pat McCabe novel of the same name, exudes the simplicity of a life understood only by the person living it, in a very uncertain and tumultuous time.

While director Neil Jordan infuses the film with his typical IRA opinions, it isn’t unpleasant or unnecessary political commentary; unlike the ridiculous additions made to Spike Lee’s Inside Man. Jordan, instead, sets his characters against the backdrop of political strife that is both relevant and a further insight to his characters. Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson and Stephen Rea round out the impressive cast in such a smaller, more personal tale.

The disc has both a nice transfer from the film, which surprisingly retains most of the lush colors that make up so much of Kitten’s attire. Also, the sound extension presents the soundtrack in the manner, which it should be presented. The behind-the-scenes featurette is typically lackluster, but the commentary with Jordan and Murphy nicely rounds out the supplements on this disc from Sony Pictures Classics.

Written by: Kevin Yeoman

Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 3

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