A daffy flick that feels a little bit like some Tim Burton movie all grown up. The story is about an orphan baby left on the doorstep of a Priest (Liam Neeson) who grows up (Cillian Murphy) with a desperate need to seek out his birth mother, he calls the “Phantom lady”. His adventures in Ireland lead him to an IRA lover and a variety of other quirky characters, including a magician (Stephen Rea of “Crying Game” fame) who tries to make him famous. Murphy is unrecognizable as a woman, with too nice a wardrobe on an orphan budget. Hard to believe he just came off of his recent thriller “Red Eye”, since this character could be the love child of Peter Frampton and Keith Partridge a.k.a. David Cassidy. While the story keeps us entertained and on our toes, with overly animated antics, Murphy’s character is empty – there’s no soul. Director Neil Jordan directs this movie also about boy/girl/transvestites but not with the depth and force of his brainstorm “The Crying Game.” Two and a half tiaras.
