Cillian Murphy’s all-time favourite movie: “It’s absolutely beautifully shot”
Somewhere between an early appearance in 28 Days Later, a lengthy stint as head of the Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby, and a slew of collaborations with Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy has become one of the defining actors of his generation. He’s mastered everything from television dramas to historical biopics to superhero villainy, showing off near-unparalleled range and depth with each new project.
The Irish actor got his first taste of success in the early 2000s when he began working with the likes of Danny Boyle and developing his early acting skills. Five years later, in 2005, Nolan cast him in the first instalment of his Batman trilogy, the beginning of a lucrative partnership in every sense of the word. From there, Murphy would become one of Nolan’s go-to leading men, starring in blockbusters, biopics, and films that walked the line between both.
Nolan and Murphy have become one of the most iconic actor/director pairings in contemporary cinema, comparable to partnerships between Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman or Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst. Their names sat side by side on a film poster to guarantee both quality and box office success, drawing film fans to the cinemas in their millions.
Each generation of actors has its own selection of perfectly suited actors and directors. Before Murphy and Nolan, there was Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, and Al Pacino and Francis Ford Coppola. Similar to Murphy’s trajectory, Pacino’s acting career took off after he discovered his creative synergy with Coppola on the set of The Godfather.
Like Murphy, Pacino was catapulted into the prime of his career after his leading appearance in the gangster flick. In the years that followed, he would give some of the best performances of his career, from Dog Day Afternoon to Scarface. But it was Scarecrow, the first film Pacino completed after The Godfather, that won Murphy over.
The future Hollywood actor was browsing the aisles of a video store, seeking a “scary movie,” when he landed upon Scarecrow. He decided to pick up the film, which, unbeknownst to him, would become one of his favourite movies of all time. It may be underrated in Pacino’s catalogue, but it certainly isn’t underrated in Murphy’s eyes.
Scarecrow follows Pacino’s character, Lion, through his relationship with Max Millan, played by Gene Hackman. Together, they travel across the United States, Lion hoping to reunite with his wife and son. Perhaps overshadowed by his performance in The Godfather, the film is often glossed over in Pacino’s filmography, but it is one of his best performances.
During an appearance on Konbini alongside his partner-in-filmmaking, Nolan, Murphy picked out Scarecrow as one of his “all-time favourite films ever”. He commended Pacino’s appearance, as well as his co-star, Hackman’s, suggesting that they were both “at the top of their careers”. Hackman had also found huge success with The French Connection a couple of years prior.
Murphy was also left in awe by the way Scarecrow was filmed. “And they shot it all in sequence, all the way across America,” he explained. “It’s absolutely beautifully shot”. Between the visual beauty of the film and two impressively nuanced lead performances from Pacino and Hackman, it’s easy to see why Murphy was so taken by the film. Now, his own projects seem to have the same effect on new budding actors.
