John Skillpa leads a double life — dutiful working man during daylight hours and pretty, perky housewife when he's at home.
'Peacock' star Cillian Murphy
That life is shattered by a freak accident in “Peacock,” an absorbing new film released on DVD this week after bypassing theaters.
The film isn’t as bold as its setup, nor does the movie give its starry cast — including Susan Sarandon, Ellen Page and Bill Pullman —enough to do.
But it’s a handsomely mounted psychological drama with an arresting lead turn by Cillian Murphy.
The Irish actor isn’t a stranger to playing in drag, but his work here sets a new standard for gender-bending performances.
Murphy plays John, a mild-mannered bank employee whose carefully orchestrated life is a secret to everyone in the (fictional) small town of Peacock, Neb.
At home, John is also Emma, a dark-haired woman who keeps a tidy home and prepares John’s breakfast for him each morning.
"Their" routine is shattered when a nearby track derailment deposits part of a train into John's backyard. The accident causes people to flock to his home where they learn for the first time of Emma’s “existence.”
A local politican (Keith Carradine) wants to use the derailed train setting as the backdrop for a fundraiser, which pits Emma against John in a battle that, while intriguing, never coalesces into something dramatically unique.
Something, or someone, has to give.
"Peacock" offers fleeting glimpses of John’s childhood, complete with a hostile mother figure who clearly played a role in his awkward development. Director/co-writer Michael Lander keeps the past purposely vague, a wise decision that draws us into John’s double life.
Pullman leaves the sharpest impression of the supporting players, playing an inflexible bank manager in a few sharply detailed scenes. But "Peacock" remains Murphy's movie from the opening sequence. He's actually more convincing here as a woman than as a man, although the character's female identity is shown as thriving, growing, while John sees his world fading from view.
The film is relentlessly somber, and the thriller aspect hyped in its marketing doesn't materialize until later in the story.
The concept behind "Peacock" seemed fascinating enough to gain a theatrical release. And while the film can't measure up to its psychologically bent scenario, it's still an intriguing choice at the local DVD store or on-demand service.
Christian Toto is a veteran journalist and film critic whose work appears in The Denver Post, The Washington Times and PajamasMedia.com. His movie reviews are heard on WTOP radio and "The Dennis Miller Show," and he blogs on film at What Would Toto Watch?
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