Michael Lander knew his debut feature would succeed only if his lead actor could be convincing both as the main character, John, and his other identity, Emma.
“Peacock,” out this week on DVD, follows a bank clerk (Cillian Murphy) leading a double life.
He dresses as a woman at home, performing wifely duties like cooking breakfast and keeping a tidy house while staying out of sight.
That changes when a freak accident exposes Emma to the residents of small town, U.S.A., – namely the fictional hamlet of Peacock, Nebraska.
“[Murphy's] performance as Emma completely transcended the material,” Lander tells WWTW of Murphy’s lead turn. “People root for Emma more than on the page.”
Lander, who co-wrote “Peacock,” says the story began as a short following a ‘50s era transvestite. But when he and co-writer Ryan O. Roy started researching dissociative identity disorder the film’s possibilities blossomed before them.
“How can someone have this and not let anybody know about it in a small town?” he asks.
Lander was able to cast a bevy of “name” actors in the film, including an Oscar-nominee (Ellen Page) and an Oscar winner (Susan Sarandon). And Murphy’s work as Emma stands as one of the most realistic depictions of a woman played be a male actor you’re likely to see.
Still, the story of a sad, psychologically damaged bank clerk is hardly the most conventional subject for a first-time filmmaker to tackle.
He admits the project’s scope scared him. But he knew he had to make it anyway.
“First films are really important,“ he says. “To have a really long career, which I hope to be fortunate enough to have, you have to come out swinging.”
“Peacock” had everything he deemed interesting in a film, but the powers evidently didn’t think it merited a theatrical release. The film bypassed movie houses, hitting DVD shelves April 20.
“It’s more of a question for the studio than it is for me,” he says diplomatically. “I asked to have the film go to film festivals. They chose to go in a different direction.”
Lander doesn’t flinch from the direct-to-DVD topic.
“It’s a question that needs to be asked more in Hollywood. In the environment we’re in, with financing being what it is,” he says, adding, “they’re good movies to be found everywhere.”
Lander is currently working on a script based on director Mario Bava ‘70s film, “Rabid Dogs,” an anti-heist flick. And having “Peacock” as his calling card is making things a little easier.
“The reviews so far have been pretty amazing. More people are starting to call … my hope is one thing leads to another.”
Lander says making “Peacock” proved to be the “most private public moment I think I’ve had in my life.”
“Peacock” took five arduous years to make, and he describes the film’s creation to losing one’s virginity.
“It’s exciting and confusing and you don’t know if you’re doing it right, but it feels good and you want to do it again,” he says.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
… or it’s painful and unfulfilling and you’re glad when it’s over. Which is how I felt after watching “Peacock.” Certainly, that’s one fine cast (except for Ellen Page, who looks about ten years too young), and Cillian Murphy does a very good job (except for the fact that Emma is quite obviously a man– albeit a delicate man– in a dress), but, putting it bluntly, there’s no real story. “Schizo tranny gets baby-rabies and does battle with self” doesn’t quite cut it.