Le secret de Peacock

This film is about a young man whose life is radically changed by the death of his mother.

"Peacock" seems very slow at first, but as the story progresses, it becomes so captivating. The story follows John and the split personality called Emma. The two personalities fight with each other to control the situation. The abrupt ending encourages viewers to think hard about what happens in the film and makes viewers postulate what would happen next. It's clever story telling. Acting by Cillian Murphy is amazing, he is so at ease as Emma and so nervous as John.

The subject matter of "Peacock" may limit its popularity, which is a pity as this intriguing drama deserves wider recognition.

I'm not sure why this has such a low rating. It's not perfect, or a mind-blowing experience or something, but I thought it was a really interesting story, well-acted, especially with a wonderful performance by Cillian Murphy. It's sort of a Psycho-like story, without ever venturing into suspense or horror.

It's about an incredibly socially inept, anxiety-ridden young man named John, whose mother has died a year previously and he's been traumatized/psychologically damaged by the loss. He seems to have been both coddled/protected and smothered/extremely isolated by his mother's hermetic, semi-abusive love. She was all he had, exactly because of the way she raised him and formed his relationship to the world. Her upbringing of him, and also to a smaller extent her subsequent death/taking away of herself, both contributed to cripple him in his relationships with others. Not that much is revealed about her even by the end, and I would have liked to know more.

Cillian Murphy is so interesting and engaging to watch as the Willardesque character John, and the completely different female character, Emma, who is mild, benignant, with a quiet strength. I didn't ever not sympathize with Emma, even though I knew she was calculating. I pitied John, whose face is like a parade of his shifting emotions: his neurotic shyness, anxiety, almost childlike anger, and emotional frustration.

Cillian even looks different as John; he changes his appearance through his acting: through the way John purses his lips, carries his body, and his nervous facial tics, etc. (you will see what I mean when you see it). When he's Emma, he also looks different in accordance with her different personality. It's not like anything I've ever seen before! He must be doing something right, to be playing a character so different from his usual self, and two characters who are so different from each other, in such a thoroughgoing, immersive way as to be utterly convincing as each. It's like he completely becomes John, and then becomes Emma, and neither is at all "Cillian."

I think this movie deserves at least a 7. Some people have said that the story isn't that credible, but I didn't find anything wrong or that off about it (it's just that it doesn't really explain everything about his mother or her "true" nature, ultimately), and the protagonist himself is the driving force behind the movie, as he should be. Besides, it's a shame when people can't suspend their disbelief just a little when it's not really that central to the point of the movie and recognize the merit of it. I couldn't help thinking that maybe some people just don't like to see Cillian Murphy in a more humbling or "weird" role, and that's why they didn't enjoy it more.

I think a better title would have been "Emma," it's simple yet it really suits the movie and makes more of a point than "Peacock," which doesn't really evoke anything apart from just being the name of the town.

Cillian Murphy shows what great acting is in this strange, delicate, hard to label film. He plays one character with two distinct separate identities (and more than a few hints of a third) and it is almost impossible to believe either one is Cillian Murphy! From one scene to the next I'd swear his facial bone structure changes, so amazingly complete are his transformations.

For many the film will probably be too slow and carefully paced, and there are a few times when it did feel a little sluggish, but at no point did I ever feel I had a firm idea of where it was going, and I was so curious to find out. That sense of experiencing something completely unexpected is rare in motion pictures these days. Without being a traditional thriller there was considerable suspense, albeit of a more intellectual kind. And at no point were we subjected to cardboard cut-out characters or two dimensional plot-advancers, even in the smallest of roles.

It ends a little ambiguously, which is a momentary disappointment, until you realize that the notion of "mystery" is at the core of this film and leaving us to ponder what the future might hold for these people is perfectly in keeping with it. Ultimately, when it comes to human beings, nothing can be predicted, and you have to sometimes question every thing you think you know.

And can I mention again just how amazing Cillian Murphy is? This even eclipses Breakfast on Pluto (as a performance, but not the film as a whole).

Nothing new here. Another reviewer already noted the travesty. This film circumvented theatrical release with direct to DVD. As far as I can tell, it wasn't even entered into film festivals.

And yet empty pop entertainment receives wide release and huge promo budgets. Guess "Peacock" didn't have the requisite action scene of a car driving through a fruit cart.

What a heartbreak for the actors. Particularly Mr. Murphy, who acted his guts out in this difficult role. His work was stellar. Bravo, Sir. I'll also wager you may never see another film that underscores Ellen Page' dramatic acting chops.

My question to those responsible for burying this film is, what the f@!k is wrong with you? With no title recognition, this gem will wither on Blockbuster shelves. Certainly, stranger and darker films are given a chance. Why not "Peacock?"

Make an effort to see this film. Then turn others on to it. It's not a masterpiece as some say, but it is a slow-building and amazing character study. If you can live without gunshots, high concepts and the venerable screeching car plowing fruit while pedestrians scatter and scream.

This movie was excellent. The plot was deeper than you would believe. (not according to the vapid response from the first reviewer, which led to my review) Cillian Murphy plays a deeply emotionally disturbed individual, when brought out of his normal routine in his life is faced to deal with who, what and whom he will become. The suspense of such a psychologically deep and suspenseful story will keep anyone with the intellectual capacity to understand said story on the edge of their seats.

I for one would highly recommend it.

And yes Cillian Murphy's performance is.... breathtaking