Cillian Murphy seems to be headed toward a radical change as far as his popularity is concerned. While the actor has had prominent roles in films like Inception and Batman Begins, as well as strong performances in some lesser known films like Breakfast on Pluto, the actor is still not a household name. Things may change though as he is joining two new films. This Irishman is about to get a taste of being in the spotlight.
The Playlist is telling us that Cillian Murphy has committed to two films, both opposite in content and tone. The first is an adaptation of Daniel Clay’s Broken, directed by first-timer Rufus Norris with a script by Mark O’Rowe. Production on Broken hasn’t started yet, but the film is more or less described as a modern To Kill a Mockingbird set in northern England. BBC Films Head Christine Langan explained the themes of the story, saying that “it’s very dark but with a note of redemption.”
Meanwhile, the Clay himself summarized the plot on Amazon:
Part narrated by Skunk Cunningham, an eleven-year-old girl in a coma, Broken. A Novel tells the intertwining stories of three families who live in a suburban square in the south of England. The Oswalds – Bob and his five daughters – are the neighbors from hell. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and intimidate anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere near them, including Rick Buckley, a geeky but harmless nineteen-year-old boy who lives with his mum and dad on the other side of the square. Humiliated publicly by the Oswalds in the early stages of the novel, Rick descends into madness and becomes the “Broken” of the title. Skunk, her brother Jed and their new friend Dillon become fascinated with what’s happened to Broken which, in turn, leads to Skunk ending up in the coma from which she narrates the story.
On the other hand, Wayfaring Strangers is an Irish-French production that focuses on a select group of British paratroopers captured by Nazis. Incarcerated in a remote farmhouse, they discover that a young Jewish couple has also hidden within its walls. This “psychological World War II picture” has Stephen Bradley as its writer and director, while Robert Sheehan, Sir Michael Gambon, Sylvie Testud (La Vie En Rose), and Niels Arestrup (Un Prophet) are considering to be a part of this intriguing war drama. Filming for Wayfaring Strangers begins in Burgundy, France in August of this year.
No matter how many times people will have to Google him to find out what films he has actually participated in, Cillian Murphy certainly has his work cut out for him. Perhaps after these two major releases, Murphy will have the attention he deserves from moviegoers everywhere.
