Eight Reasons To Love Cillian Murphy

Posted in Kiss Me I'm Irish, Movies |

By Less Lee Moore

8. He can play creepy.
Let’s get this one out of the way first. If I had a nickel for every time I heard or read the word “creepy” (or worse, “BUT he’s so creepy!”) associated with Cillian Murphy, well, I’d have a hell of a lot of nickels.

If you’ve only seen him in Red Eye or Batman Begins, then I must agree. Unlike some actors, though, when Cillian Murphy is creepy, there is not a shred of humanity to be found. For example, the look of dispassionate disgust on his face in Batman Begins when confronting Carmine Falcone in the psych ward is positively chilling, with or without the weaponized hallucinogens and burlap mask. He’s even scarier than Ra’s Al Ghul because you can’t tell that there’s a human being behind those icy blue eyes.

Batman Begins, 2005

7. He can play tender.
Of course, Cillian Murphy’s blue eyes can be shockingly vulnerable as well. The eternally optimistic Patrick “Kitten” Braden in Breakfast On Pluto is a sweet and tender hooligan who wants nothing more than to be loved and to belong. All pouty lips and batting eyelashes, she seduces everyone she meets with very little effort, and eventually puts her faith (and life) in the hands (and arms) of those who don’t have her best interests at heart.

When Kitten finally learns the truth of her parents’ past and comes to terms with it, the depth of emotion in Cillian Murphy’s eyes says more than words ever could (and in fact, for once the character is stunned into silence).

Breakfast on Pluto, 2005

6. He can play creepy AND tender.
28 Days Later was the first film in which I saw Cillian Murphy and it still remains one of my all-time favorite movies. He plays Jim, a bike courier who wakes up from a coma to find that the world he remembered has been lost to a rage virus. His devastation at discovering his dead parents causes fellow survivor Selena to hesitate to trust him.

Further crushed by the loss of a substitute father figure, and threatened by madmen, he takes violent initiatives to save Selena, causing her to hesitate again when she thinks he might be too far-gone. But in a heartbeat, he proves her wrong and the transformation is spectacular, effective, and affecting.

28 Days Later, 2002

A subtler and ultimately more disturbing balance of creepy and tender is found in Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of the obsessive, lovelorn Pig in Disco Pigs. To reveal too much would ruin the grotesquerie of the film; you must see it to believe it, and even then you’ll be left dumbfounded.

5. He can play funny.
Despite the dark humor found in both Red Eye and Breakfast On Pluto, you might think Cillian Murphy is too over-the-top to be truly funny. But then, if you think that, you probably haven’t seen Intermission, Watching The Detectives, or the as-yet-unreleased Perrier’s Bounty. In all three films he plays hapless and somewhat helpless characters, each charming, but full of foibles and frailties.

He doesn’t ham it up and he doesn’t play the clichéd, ultimately damaged jackass you end up forgiving because of his rakish good looks. In fact, he somehow manages to tone down his lovely features to appear as a regular human being. His comic timing, and unexpected flair for physical comedy, are both impeccable.

Watching The Detectives, 2007

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