HEY KITTEN

this movie was my introduction to irish actor cillian murphy and it is possible i will not see many of his films. as an actor, violence is not a thing he shies away from, but i do. it matters not. in 2005 i walked out of the theatre knowing that his interpretation of the lead character 'kitten braden' would remain my favorite performance of an actor. ever.

my wise cousin once told me that he does not enjoy characters who fail to inspire him to be a better person. patrick mccabe, the author of 'breakfast on pluto' surely got the elements of the fascinatingly refreshing and heartbreaking 'kitten' down in black and white but cillian, at the hands of neil jordan, turned on the same switch as in 'the wizard of oz' and brought to colorful life an individual who arouses both pity and admiration.

songwriter jules shear sang, 'a flower by the railroad track needs built in strength to live and to grow.' neil jordan claims his hands were somewhat tied due to budget restraints but i don't see what might be missing. like a flower beside the railroad track, beauty is where you find it.