• Wednesday, November 16, 2005

• Country:

  USA

• Language:

  English

• Runtime:

  128 min

2005

A foundling lad, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age in the 1970s. He leaves his Irish town, in part to look for his mother and in part because his transgender nature is beyond the town's understanding.

He's taken in by a rock band, falls for the lead singer, has brushes with the IRA, is arrested by the London police, works in a peep show, and poses as a survey researcher for the phone company. Throughout, his nationality and his nature put him at great risk. In his search for his mother, he makes surprising discoveries of friendship and family. But, will he survive?

Goofs

• Anachronisms: Whilst the film is set in the late 1960s, early 1970s, the scene at the train station shows trains of the 21st century.
• Anachronisms: Whilst the film is set in the late 1960s, early 1970s, the London underground train the Phantomlady disappears into, after Kitten ran down the escalator after her, is of the 1990s.
• Anachronisms: In the scene where Patrick is asking the construction workers in London about the whereabouts of his mother, you can see a few modern-day cars pass by in the background, under the bridge.
• Continuity: When Kitten is attacked by the man in the car, she fends him off with her perfume bottle and flees the vehicle without the coat she entered the car in. Later on she is seen wearing that coat.
• Anachronisms: A copy of the board game Scotland Yard by Ravensburger is in the stack of games inside of Billy's mother's caravan (mobile home). That game was originally produced in 1983.
• Anachronisms: Towards the end of the film Kitten pretends to be doing a survey for British Telecom. British Telecom didn't come into existence until 1981.
• Anachronisms: Although The Wombles would have been at the height of their popularity during the film's mid-70s setting, the appearances of the featured Wombles are based on the designs from their late-90s revival, in particular Wellington. Also, Alderney is shown - although included in the books, she didn't make her screen debut until the 90s series.

Trivias

• The barman who shouts at John-Joe after he smashes the glass is the owner of the real bar where this scene was shot, The Harbour Bar in Bray.
• Although she plays his mother in the film, Eva Birthistle is only two years older than Cillian Murphy.

Awards

1. European Film Award
   Event: European Film Awards
   Result: Nominated
   Category: Best Actor
   Recipient(s): Cillian Murphy
2. Golden Globe
   Event: Golden Globes, USA
   Result: Nominated
   Category: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
   Recipient(s): Cillian Murphy
3. IFTA Award
   Event: Irish Film and Television Awards
   Result: Won
   Category: Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film
   Recipient(s): Cillian Murphy