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Indeed, Breakfast on Pluto rides a vibe as light and chirpy as the pair of talking robins that flutter in and out of its scenes. The film is based on Patrick McCabe's 1998 novel of the same name. Jordan bought the rights several years ago and hired a writer to concoct a screenplay, but he ended up adapting it himself alongside McCabe.

Jordan says he finished the script four years ago but wasn't sure he wanted to make the film. Nevertheless, he auditioned Murphy for the pivotal lead role. The film's success hinges on Kitten's likeability and ability to elicit sympathy from an audience.

Through her journey, Kitten touches and transforms the lives of a parade of colorful, seemingly heterosexual, male characters. Pluto's aging rock stars, amateur magicians and gruff police officers are portrayed by a bevy of instantly recognizable faces, including frequent Jordan collaborator Stephen Rea, singers Gavin Friday and Bryan Ferry and charismatic character actors Brenda Gleeson and Ian Hart.

“It's about a character who transforms his world with his own will. He forces the world towards its own kind of happy conclusion. He's looking for a family,” Jordan says. “It's kind of about finding now what you're looking for, in a strange way.”

Murphy holds the films together with a charming, effervescent performance that perfectly straddles the line between masculine strength and feminine wiles. He's all woman when the moment calls for it, but he never loses sight of the man that defines much of his character. It's a deceptively complex, seemingly effortless, performance.

“When I tested (Cillian Murphy), he'd done nothing, really. He'd just been in theater in Ireland and in one small movie. I just thought he was one of the most amazing actors I'd come across--his physicality, his beauty, his emotional vulnerability, those enormous eyes,” Jordan says with a laugh.

“Ever since that (screen) test, he's been saying to me, ‘When are we doing this film? We need to do it before I'm too old.' He's a sweetheart. When I was ready to do it, he was just ready to go.”

A kinder, gentler Jordan, then, is what ultimately emerges from Breakfast on Pluto--but one that is still interested in exploring issues of sexual ambiguity and gender identity. According to the world-renowned director, however, it's not something he does on purpose.

“It's kind of accidental. I mean, I have heterosexual characters in my films as well,” Jordan says. “Everybody keeps asking me that. I think it emerged in The Crying Game. I don't see this movie as having a direct relation to The Crying Game at all.

“This film, specifically, is about a country where the identity of people is so stunted and so set in stone, it's the cause of a lot of friction. If you've got a character who can invent his own identity, that very fact is an act of liberation.”

Get more info on the film at the official website

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