Face Oculta

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).

"Peacock" is an extremely strange movie. It is based in a small town called "Peacock" where John (Cillian Murphy) is a bank employee and leads a solitary life. What everyone is unaware of is that John dresses up as a woman(calling self Emma) very morning and does all the household chores like cooking breakfast, making lunch, cleaning the house, washing clothes etc. After that, "Emma" dresses up as "John" and begins his day by eating the breakfast, putting on neat clothes, taking the lunch box (all prepared by "Emma"). This routine of "Emma" and "John" continues everyday with no one being aware of the presence of "Emma".Until one day, due some incident, "Emma" comes to the attention of the entire town and everyone thinks of "Emma" as "John's wife". As a result, "John" starts playing "Emma" more often than earlier to avoid unwanted scenarios and a lot happens showcasing "John" troubled mental health and his struggle to keep up with both "John" and "Emma".

Cast-wise, it's a plethora of talent. Cillian Murphy has always been prodigious actor. It's unfortunate that his performance in this movie didn't get the recognition it deserves. His was probably one of the best performances in the decade. Susan Sarandon, Ellen Page, Josh Lucas all have a small, yet pivotal role, played with intent and unfeigned.

"Peacock" explores the fragile and unstable mental health of "John" due to an abusive and extremely reserved childhood. It's clear that "John" is suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, but the way both his personalities "John" and "Emma" competes with each others aspects, how they are aware of each others presence but do nothing to avoid it, how both have contrasting perceptions and beliefs, how both try to undo matters done by the other etc are portrayed superbly, but the overall premise is subject to multiple explanations.

Overall, "Peacock" strangeness lies in the fact that it offers or rather viewer can perceive multiple explanations for the turn of events in the movie. Having said that, "Peacock" is a satisfying watch, courtesy of Cillian Murphy.

My Verdict: 7/10

The film itself probably doesn't rate more than 3.5 stars because the plot of "Peacock" strains credibility a bit, but not nearly as much as it might have without Cillian Murphy's fantastic 5-star performance. In this film, he proves himself an actor with great scope and depth.

We learn at the outset (thus no spoiler here) that Murphis playing two characters, alternatively adopting the personality of an obviously dysfunctional young man during workaday hours as a bank file clerk--with a notable performance by Bill Pullman as his supervisor--and then transforming into his mysterious female counterpart, each living separate but connected lives in the same house. I'll say no more about the plot other than that it's a very original story, with appropriate nods to a few classics.

This is no "Tootsie" or "Some Like It Hot" cross-dressing story. This film and Murphy's performance are equally compelling and memorable. See it.

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

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.