PEACOCK
2 out of 5 stars

hmm… i’m wondering if it wasn’t that obvious that john and emma were the same person? (or cillian murphy in drag) this “psychological thriller” wasn’t that thrilling, and didn’t do us justice explaining why john skillpa (the main character) was the way he was… i expected better with an all-star cast! :/


from the very get-go, you are introduced to john skillpa, a quiet/shy bank clerk living in the small nebraska town of peacock. every morning, “emma” (his alter-ego and “wife”) does his house chores, cooks his breakfast of bacon + toast + fried eggs, leaves him notes around the house with reminders, and even leaves dinner for him in the fridge for when he comes home. the thing with multiple personality disorder is that john has no recollection that emma has done all this… in fact, he seems to have no recollection of emma’s behavior/actions that get him into hot water when the mayor wants to do a public rally in his backyard, thus exposing his secret. he gets into even more hot water, when maggie (ellen page), a waitress/hooker from his past, begins to ask for money to support their son and herself. hint: maggie ends up being the missing link between john and his abusive mother… (i’ll leave it @ that…)

i have to hand it to cillian murphy, who does a great playing both roles of john and emma. both personalities are polar-opposites, and he does a good job balancing both roles. ellen page, on the other hand, should just stick with the awkward coming-of-age comedies because i think her dramatic roles aren’t dramatic enough… like i said, it’s not really psychologically thrilling enough because the movie already tells you john’s secret from the very start, nor does it expose layers of the story like a REAL psycho thriller would. i think it’s a good premise but a little bit too linear in terms of plot for my tastes…