2010 film directed by Michael Lander

i
Peacock
Peacock is a 2010 American psychological thriller directed by Michael Lander, written by Lander and Ryan Roy, and starring Cillian Murphy, Elliot Page and Susan Sarandon. In the mid-1960's, John Skillpa (Cillian … Wikipedia
Ratings
48%
Rotten Tomatoes
2.5K votes
6.2 / 10.0
IMDb
13.2K votes
Factsheet
Directed by Michael Lander
Written by Michael Lander
Ryan Roy
Produced by Barry Mendel
Factsheet
Directed by Michael Lander
Written by Michael Lander
Ryan Roy
Produced by Barry Mendel
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Peacock_(2010_film)
Peacock (2010 film) - Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 - In the mid-1960's, John Skillpa (Cillian Murphy), a quiet bank clerk living alone in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life in order to hide his secret: He has dissociative identity disorder, the implied result of childhood trauma inflicted by his abusive mother.
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Peacock
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Discussions

Peacock (2010) movie ending *spoilers*
I'm so sorry no one has responded to your very well thought out analysis yet, so let me be the first. :-) . Spoilers ahead:------- You compared the dichotomy between John and Emma so well. I haven't seen the film in a while, but parts of it stuck with me. Personally, I believe it was indicated (?) that John was horribly abused (likely SA'd) as a child and lives in a split personality trauma to protect his psyche from the memory. He lived a rigid, highly scheduled routined life that likely made him feel safe. When the train landed in his backyard, it opened up a can of worms where people wrecked his precisely timed world that held him together. I thought that in becoming Emma, it was him escaping the pain of the loss of safety and being someone he was not. In the end, she/he had to come to terms with being Emma, because, if I remember correctly, everyone thought John was dead. So John had to continue as Emma - likely feeling trapped in having to live his life as this fake version of him/herself - like he had to mourn his own death and move on as Emma. That last scene was pretty devastating - that last shot of Emma? Wow. If there is an alternate ending, I'd love to see it. Thanks for your commentary! Peacock was a good film that didn't get distribution, nor the love it deserved. It may not have been perfect, but Cillian did a spectacular job in this film. He was virtually unrecognizable, and the storyline was thought provoking. (I personally did find the townspeople - Susan Sarandon's character in particular - to be annoyingly nosey. As an introvert myself, I really felt for John in those moments when they wouldn't leave him/her alone. His privacy and private world was rocked. (John specifically). More on reddit.com
🌐 r/CillianMurphy
10
67
July 30, 2024
Parallels to new “Sick” movie on Peacock
I just saw it the other day and said the same thing, eerily similar More on reddit.com
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93
184
May 25, 2022
[Suggest] Peacock (2010) A psychological thriller in which Cillian Murphy plays two personalities controlling one body. Murphy's performance is utterly convincing and the entire movie makes for uncomfortable viewing (in a good way). Easily available online.
Sounds interesting, but isn't on Netflix. Looks like we're going sailing... More on reddit.com
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10
63
January 26, 2014
going insane
this movie was WILD and so under rated. The fact that Cillian can play a characters John/Emma and Tommy Shelby and do all of it so convincingly says huge things about his range as an actor. Peacock itself isn't amazing, but his acting in it is phenomenal. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/CillianMurphy
25
181
April 7, 2024
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IMDb
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Peacock (2024) ⭐ 7.1 | Comedy, Drama
September 19, 2025 - With Albrecht Schuch, Anton Noori, Julia Franz Richter, Salka Weber. Matthias masters impersonating roles for hire: cultured boyfriend, perfect son, sparring partner. Professionally adept at pretending daily, his true challenge lies in being himself.
Release date   Sep 19, 2025
Duration   01:42:00
Rating: 7.1/10 ​ - ​ 1.91K votes
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/cillianmurphy › peacock (2010) movie ending *spoilers*
r/CillianMurphy on Reddit: Peacock (2010) movie ending *spoilers*
July 30, 2024 -

Just finished watching peacock (2010). Such an incredible movie.

I haven't come across what I consider a correct explanation of the events in the film "Peacock," so let me clarify my interpretation.

John and Emma represent two distinct personalities. They are completely unaware of each other's thoughts and actions, although they know of each other's existence. Emma only emerged after John's "mother" died. (The quotation marks are intentional, as will be explained later.) Following her death, John subconsciously created Emma to fill the void left by his "mother," assigning her the household responsibilities. Emma, who lacks John's childhood memories and trauma, is more emotionally stable than he is.

Throughout the film, Emma views John as unreasonable and selfish for ignoring Maggie's situation. She even uses John's voice to arrange a meeting with Maggie, during which she stages John's death using another man's body. To prevent John's return, Emma shaves her eyebrows, making it unlikely he would leave the house without them. This act might also be a way to assert her dominance as the primary personality.

I thought it was quite clear that John was jolted back to reality while taking the picture of the kid. It was John, not Emma, who sent Maggie and the child away.

Initially, Emma appeared to embody the ideal image of his mother—caring but not controlling or abusive. However, as her personality grew stronger, she became increasingly controlling, and her motives turned sinister. Her actions toward Maggie were not driven by a desire to help but rather by her intention to take the child for herself. I suspect she might have eventually killed Maggie.

It’s unclear who emerged as the dominant personality in the end. While John clearly achieved his goal, the identity of the dominant personality remains ambiguous. It seemed like John was the one in the chair at the end, dressed in a dress, possibly waiting for his eyebrows to grow back. Alternatively, he could be trapped in Emma's body. If it were Emma, she might have displayed some signs of distress given the events, but instead, the figure appeared calm and satisfied.

I’ve heard there is an alternative ending in the dvd 📀 version?

Top answer
1 of 5
9
I'm so sorry no one has responded to your very well thought out analysis yet, so let me be the first. :-) . Spoilers ahead:------- You compared the dichotomy between John and Emma so well. I haven't seen the film in a while, but parts of it stuck with me. Personally, I believe it was indicated (?) that John was horribly abused (likely SA'd) as a child and lives in a split personality trauma to protect his psyche from the memory. He lived a rigid, highly scheduled routined life that likely made him feel safe. When the train landed in his backyard, it opened up a can of worms where people wrecked his precisely timed world that held him together. I thought that in becoming Emma, it was him escaping the pain of the loss of safety and being someone he was not. In the end, she/he had to come to terms with being Emma, because, if I remember correctly, everyone thought John was dead. So John had to continue as Emma - likely feeling trapped in having to live his life as this fake version of him/herself - like he had to mourn his own death and move on as Emma. That last scene was pretty devastating - that last shot of Emma? Wow. If there is an alternate ending, I'd love to see it. Thanks for your commentary! Peacock was a good film that didn't get distribution, nor the love it deserved. It may not have been perfect, but Cillian did a spectacular job in this film. He was virtually unrecognizable, and the storyline was thought provoking. (I personally did find the townspeople - Susan Sarandon's character in particular - to be annoyingly nosey. As an introvert myself, I really felt for John in those moments when they wouldn't leave him/her alone. His privacy and private world was rocked. (John specifically).
2 of 5
6
Just watched this movie now and I love Cillian's acting, really captivating! Your review was a great take on it
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Netflix
netflix.com › title › 70122318
Watch Peacock | Netflix
Bank clerk John Skillpa hides a disturbing past from everyone in tiny Peacock, Neb., but his efforts unravel when a train crashes into his backyard.
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ComingSoon.net
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Underrated Jamie Foxx Action Thriller Coming to Peacock Soon
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Rotten Tomatoes
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Peacock | Rotten Tomatoes
July 19, 2023 - They are both emotionally disturbed people. The county coroner would check dental records to confirm the body when someone comes looking for the murder victim. It’s hard to believe neurotically shy John ever had sexual intercourse. The best part of the movie is the derailed caboose in the backyard.
Director   Michael Lander
Rating: 48/100 ​ - ​ 2.5K votes
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TV Guide
tvguide.com › movies › peacock › 2000109461
Peacock - Where to Watch and Stream - TV Guide
Shy bank clerk John Skillpa leads a lonely existence in Peacock, Nebraska, population 800, by choice out of circumstance.
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IMDb
imdb.com › title › tt1188113
Peacock (2010) ⭐ 6.2 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
May 28, 2010 - Peacock: Directed by Michael Lander. With Cillian Murphy, Elliot Page, Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas. A train accident in rural Nebraska gradually unveils a mystery involving the town's bank clerk.
Release date   May 28, 2010
Duration   01:30:00
Rating: 6.2/10 ​ - ​ 13.2K votes
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Amazon
amazon.com › Peacock-Cillian-Murphy › dp › B0037E8HOC
Amazon.com: Peacock : Cillian Murphy, Susan Sarandon, Ellen Page, Bill Pullman, Keith Carradine, Josh Lucas: Movies & TV
At the heart of this 2010 film, ... abuse has left John so peculiar (when it comes to social interactions, this guy makes the Unabomber look well-adjusted) that he has donned a dress, a wig, and makeup and created an entirely ...
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NYTimes
nytimes.com › 2025 › 09 › 18 › movies › peacock-review.html
‘Peacock’ Review: Design Your Life - The New York Times
September 18, 2025 - The debut feature from the writer-director Bernhard Wenger, “Peacock” aims to satirize a capitalist culture built on artifice. It finds comedy in pulling back the curtain from the civility of Matthias’s curated world to reveal the hypocrisy, ...
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Apple TV
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Peacock - Apple TV
April 20, 2010 - Movie · Thriller · Drama · John Skillpa, a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John's backyard and ...
Release date   Apr 20, 2010
Director   Michael Lander
Actors   Susan SarandonElliot PageCillian Murphy
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Philosophy in Film
philosophyinfilm.com › home › review: peacock (2010), a poor hitchcock homage that nobody saw
Review: Peacock (2010), A Poor Hitchcock Homage That Nobody Saw
May 1, 2025 - Cillian Murphy actually plays John, a shy bank clerk living in the town of Peacock, Nebraska. It’s meant to be the 1960s, but some poor hair, wardrobe, and even location choices made me question the setting throughout.
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Peacock
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Tubi
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Watch Peacock (2010) - Free Movies | Tubi
January 1, 2010 - A rural Nebraska town faces upheaval when a train accident occurs, and the secret life of a quiet bank clerk is gradually unveiled.
Release date   Jan 01, 2010
Duration   01:30:41
Director   Michael Lander
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Peacock (2010) Trailer #1 - YouTube
Check out the official Peacock (2010) trailer starring Cillian Murphy! ► Watch on Vudu: https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/Peacock/176118?cmp=Classi...
Published   July 20, 2023
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Letterboxd
letterboxd.com › film › peacock-2010
Peacock (2010)
A minor train accident in rural Nebraska gradually unveils a mystery involving the town's reclusive bank clerk.
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Google Play
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Peacock - Movies on Google Play
John Skillpa, a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John's backyard and destroys more than the weathered planks of his wood fence.