Four out of Five stars
Running time: 139 mins

Enjoyable drama that’s both darkly funny and emotionally engaging. Jordan’s style and Murphy’s performance both take a little getting used to, but the rewards are worth the effort.

What’s it all about?
Based on the novel by Butcher Boy author Patrick McCabe, Breakfast on Pluto stars Cillian Murphy as happy-go-lucky transvestite Patrick Kitten Braden, who leaves his native Ireland and travels to London in the 1970s, intent on finding the mother who abandoned him (Eva Birthistle).

The Good
A film like this stands or falls on the quality of its central performance and luckily Cillian Murphy is more than up to the task, scrubbing up nicely as a transvestite and creating an extremely likeable (if occasionally frustrating) character. The supporting performances (by a loyal band of Jordan regulars) are equally good, with Gleeson the standout.

The Bad
Whether you like the film or not will largely depend on how quickly (if at all) you warm to Kitten’s character (and, by extension, Murphy’s performance). Murphy's mannered way of speaking and his seemingly naive manner take a lot of getting used to.

Similarly, Jordan’s style is disconcerting at first, particularly when it looks as if the entire film is going to be narrated by a pair of (subtitled) CGI robins.

Worth seeing?
In short, this is Neil Jordan’s best film since The Butcher Boy and is definitely worth seeing for Murphy’s performance. Recommended.