The actor plays Neil, a film geek and reclusive video store owner who enjoys living vicariously through his favourite films noir. When he meets real-life femme fatale Violet (Lucy Liu), the line between reality and make believe begin to blur.
Also starring Brendan Gleeson, son Domnhall, and Jodie Whittaker, it's a typical Irish gangster comedy. Murphy stars as a smalltime crook on a run from a local gangster he owes money to, especially after his friend Brenda accidentally kills one of the antagonist's henchmen.
A screen adaptation of Patrick McCabe's Booker-shortlisted novel of the same name for a breezy watch but it's actually all heart. Patrick/Kitten (Cillian Murphy), a young transwoman in Northern Ireland, decides to leave her small town for London and look for her mother after the people around her fail to comprehend her gender.
In this black & white comedy disguised as a tragedy, directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Sally Potter, a celebration ends with blood on the floor. Murphy plays Tom, a banker who's the husband of one of the guests invited by Janet (Patricia Clarkson) to celebrate her nomination as shadow minister for health.
A quintessentially indie feature about a group of youngsters from Ireland land summer jobs on Long Island, New York. Away from the constant watch of their elders, they explore friendship, fun, slacking, drinking, until the realisation that their lives need to have meaning, hits home.
Among the many mutually linked plotlines that form Intermission, Murphy's track depicts him as a mild-mannered Dubliner named John who breaks up with his girlfriend Deirdre (Kelly Macdonald), as a test. But then, she gets into a relationship with a middle-aged banker, and a listless John tries desperately to win her back.