Cillian Murphy has had a career full of hits. Although he is finally getting the respect that he deserves decades into his career, he has been acting on some of the most iconic projects in recent years. From working on other Christopher Nolan hits to leading the beloved Peaky Blinders, he has certainly explored various characters over the years and gained a lot of acclaim for it.
It would seem that he had been starring in masterpieces ever since the very beginning of his career. In his 2002 film, 28 Days Later, he played the role of Jim, a child who wakes up from a coma, only to realize that his entire reality has shifted.
There is one very important death in the movie that becomes a defining moment, proving just how good it is.
28 Days Later–A Family Story
Cillian Murphy played the role of 28 Days Later‘s protagonist Jim, who, after waking up from his coma, goes on a quest to find his parents. He quickly learns that his parents took their own lives after the zombie apocalypse started, and this betrayal sets up the tone for the rest of the film. Jim did not want to be alone; he needed a family, and that is what he sought after for the rest of the movie.
While he did find a semblance of this in a woman named Selena, her cold and calculated methods of survival made it difficult for Jim to truly bond with her and look at her as a maternal figure. Eventually, the pair run into another duo, Hannah and Frank.
Hannah was in a similar situation as Jim, except she was able to find her paternal figure in the form of Frank and went on to represent all that Murphy’s character was looking for. After these two were introduced, it was as though rose-colored glasses were put on the film’s gritty darkness, and all seemed to be well in a world reminiscent of hell.
Jim was happy, having finally found what he was looking for in the form of Frank. Family in a wasteland. He turned Brendan Gleeson’s character into a father figure of sorts and hung onto every word he said; bringing a refreshing reality to a film miles away from it.
Cillian Murphy’s Character Was Left on His Own Again
If there is one common knowledge in the world of zombies, is that the moment characters get too comfortable, they are going to lose it all. In 28 Days Later, such a downfall was near. Throughout the runtime of the film, there are mentions of a sanctuary of sorts, where the military would provide them with aid.
The four characters spend the better part of their time together trying to get to this location, only to find out that the place is deserted.
A shattered Frank falls to his knees after a drop of infected blood enters one of his eyes. As reality set in about what had just happened, the glasses that brought light into their world were ripped away.
Jim had just lost another parental figure, and the worst part was that he was supposed to pull the trigger. As he stands there, trying to kill Brendan Gleeson’s character, soldiers arrive and finish the job for him.
There is no denying that Cillian Murphy’s character was different after experiencing the traumatizing event. While it was certainly not a good thing to have gone through, it helped Jim truly understand the reality of the world he was living in now, and for that, he needed a rude awakening.
Watch 28 Days Later on Prime Video.
