I cannot imagine anyone else handling this role as well as Cillian. Most commenters first mention his recognizing he is a transvestite, preferring to live as a girl/woman. I am an adoptee so what hit me immediately was Kitten's quest for her mother. It touched me in a way perhaps only an adoptee can feel. I was fortunate in my adopted family and consider them my parents but ever in my mind from a young age was "Who made me, why am I the way I am, why did she not want/keep me". I connected immediately and started crying early. I recommended this movie to a very practical friend and her comment was "Never recommend a movie to me again". I was sad for her that she could not realize the beauty and heartbreak of the film, nor the extreme talent of Cillian.
Patrick realizes "he" prefers to be and act as a "she" and is tossed out of his foster home after his foster mother discovers him in her dress on returning from church. He is then on his own, fully able to be, act and dress as the young woman, Kitten. His journey broke my heart and I vacillated from being angry with his birth mother, grateful to the parish priest (Liam Neeson) for his caring, or angry with those on the journey who took advantage of Kitten. This was the second of Cillian's movies I had ever seen, with the first being The Wind that Shakes the Barley. I was mesmerized by how he becomes his part and I have been an ardent admirer ever since. It makes me sad when someone cannot appreciate his genius. I do remember thinking at the end how sad it was that a slim young actor looked better in a dress than I did at that stage of my life.
Absolutely brilliant performance that had me invested from the first in Kitten's journey. It seemed so real that I even went to my computer to see if it was based on a true story. That is Cillian's genius. Well worth the watching.
Patrick realizes "he" prefers to be and act as a "she" and is tossed out of his foster home after his foster mother discovers him in her dress on returning from church. He is then on his own, fully able to be, act and dress as the young woman, Kitten. His journey broke my heart and I vacillated from being angry with his birth mother, grateful to the parish priest (Liam Neeson) for his caring, or angry with those on the journey who took advantage of Kitten. This was the second of Cillian's movies I had ever seen, with the first being The Wind that Shakes the Barley. I was mesmerized by how he becomes his part and I have been an ardent admirer ever since. It makes me sad when someone cannot appreciate his genius. I do remember thinking at the end how sad it was that a slim young actor looked better in a dress than I did at that stage of my life.
Absolutely brilliant performance that had me invested from the first in Kitten's journey. It seemed so real that I even went to my computer to see if it was based on a true story. That is Cillian's genius. Well worth the watching.