I have rather enjoyed Neil Jordan's films in the past. Things like "Interview With The Vampire" and "In the Company of Wolves" had a lovely surreal quality that appealed to me.
The movie follows the life story of Partick "Kitty" Bergen, a young Irishman abandoned by his mother in the 1960s. Growing up, he develops a penchant for dressing up as a woman, and is shockingly open about sex and sexuality, a quality that rankles with his adopted family and the other inhabitants of Irish village he grows up in. He decides to flee the village to and look for his mother...
Despite a strong central performance from Cillian Murphy as Kitty, not to mention quality turns from all the supporting cast, for me the movie didn't quite work. I found the long biographical structure of the story unnecessary, and I didn't think we needed to go into that much depth about Kitty's background. It would have been more fun if the film focused on his life as an adult. It would have provided the story with more of a centre and made the long running time much shorter.
Furthermore, actors such as Bryan Ferry, Liam Neeson and especially Jordan regular Stephen Rea were woefully underutilised and I would have liked to have seen some more of their characters.
A small disappointment from a film-maker I really admire.
The movie follows the life story of Partick "Kitty" Bergen, a young Irishman abandoned by his mother in the 1960s. Growing up, he develops a penchant for dressing up as a woman, and is shockingly open about sex and sexuality, a quality that rankles with his adopted family and the other inhabitants of Irish village he grows up in. He decides to flee the village to and look for his mother...
Despite a strong central performance from Cillian Murphy as Kitty, not to mention quality turns from all the supporting cast, for me the movie didn't quite work. I found the long biographical structure of the story unnecessary, and I didn't think we needed to go into that much depth about Kitty's background. It would have been more fun if the film focused on his life as an adult. It would have provided the story with more of a centre and made the long running time much shorter.
Furthermore, actors such as Bryan Ferry, Liam Neeson and especially Jordan regular Stephen Rea were woefully underutilised and I would have liked to have seen some more of their characters.
A small disappointment from a film-maker I really admire.