As more details emerge about Michael Lander's feature film directorial debut, it seems destined for a special place in the 2008 or 2009 exhibition schedule.
By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com
Set to shoot this spring in Des Moines, Iowa, Peacock appears to be picking up where star Cillian Murphy's Breakfast on Pluto left off. In the film, described as a psychological thriller, the Irish actor plays nondescript bank employee John Skillpa who, when at home, prefers to doll himself up as split personality alter ego Emma.
Of course, much of the pre-shoot publicity so far has come from the fact that Murphy's co-star in this one is Juno darling Ellen Page. She plays, ironically enough, a mother of a two-year-old boy who figures prominently in the mystery of Skillpa's anything but plain Plains psyche, reverberating in the fictional town of Peacock, Nebraska.
"It's a really interesting script," casting director Ann Wilkinson tells the Des Moines Register. "To me, it's a cross between the Coen brothers and Twin Peaks." In what could perhaps be interpreted as a good omen for Murphy's double role, the official name of Wilkinson's Iowa company is PMS Casting.
In the wake of the Academy Award nominated Lars and the Real Girl, we appear to be heading towards the subtle pleasures of John and the Imaginary Girl. In any event, the directorial debut of Michael Lander continues Murphy's track record of choosing highly unconventional roles in-between the occasional mainstream gig. With his success in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the actor could easily have chosen to play it safe(r). But lucky for all of us, he has decided not to.
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