Breakfast on Pluto is the second collaboration between director Neil Jordan and writer, Patrick McCabe, following the excellent Butcher Boy, which opened last years IFF in Moscow. Starring the electrifying Cillian Murphy, Breakfast on Pluto tells the story of Patrick “Kitten” Braden, an orphan from a small Irish town who dreams of escaping his drab surroundings.

Patrick’s gleeful decision to become the cross-dressing androgynous Kitten triggers his crazy kaleidoscopic journey across Northern Ireland and England, in which he/she moves in with renegade IRA musician, Billy Rock, falls in love with a magician before heading for the glamorous, rough and tumble streets of London. Through it all, Kitten faces hatred and hardship in equal measure, but somehow retains her unwavering spirit, teaching a valuable lesson about staying hopeful and optimistic in the face of harsh degradation.

Murphy’s portrayal of the fiercely flamboyant Kitten is simply mesmerizing — outrageous, tender and full of the sort of deep pain that no amount of make-up can conceal. Filled with a staggering amount of great pop songs from the tumultuous 1960s and ‘70s, Breakfast on Pluto is an inspiring ode to the power of the individual human spirit.