Cillian Murphy Shows His Plumage as Man and Wife in Peacock

Cillian Murphy, the fair-looking chap with the unsettling eyes, will be playing both man and wife in the upcoming psychological thriller called Peacock, appropriately titled what with the male peacock being the one with all the glorious plumage. The super-cuddly Ellen Page has also hopped on board.

The title is derived from tiny Peacock, Neb., where Murphy’s character, a split personality, fools the town into believing his two alter egos are man and wife. Page plays a struggling young mother who holds the key to his past and sparks a battle between the personalities.

” ‘Peacock’ stunned me as a script from start to finish,” Murphy said. “It offers an incredible challenge to an actor — one I couldn’t turn down.”

Somehow I don’t think Murphy will have all that much trouble passing himself off as a woman. THR has a blurb from Page:

“This is one of the boldest screenplays I’ve come across in my albeit short career,” Page said of “Peacock.” “It’s a character and story I can throw myself into and exactly the type of movie I love to be part of.”

This from the girl from Hard Candy. I get the feeling that this is going to be a particularly effective movie, given Murphy’s uncanny ability to be profoundly creepy.