Summary

Cillian Murphy’s intense performances elevate his characters, making them more compelling and memorable on screen.

Red Lights
boasts a phenomenal cast, including Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, and Robert De Niro, who create tension and intrigue throughout.
Murphy’s rivalry with De Niro in
Red Lights
creates a memorable and powerful confrontation that showcases his acting abilities to the fullest.

Whether he was going toe to toe with numerous iterations of the caped crusader (by using fear toxin) or butting heads with the United States Atomic Energy Commission for his use of the atomic bomb, Irish actor Cillian Murphy always holds a tremendous presence on the big screen. No one can question the intensity and tenacity he easily conveys to the audience. At a moment’s notice, he can make you feel a wide range of emotions for a character you never knew you would care about.

While his performance as Scarecrow in 2005’s Batman Begins motivated director Christopher Nolan to bring him back and complete the trilogy (in the same role), his portrayal most certainly helped to elevate Christian Bale to leading man status in Hollywood. The same absolutely stands for Nolan’s Oppenheimer just last year. Stepping into the shoes of the main lead this time, not only was the entire biographical drama elevated with his role, but fellow actor Robert Downey Jr. (his bitter opposite in the film as Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss) became a much better adversary because of it. The two were extraordinary when it came to not only creating tension but maintaining it as well. However, when it comes to a singular, face-to-face confrontation, Murphy has one on-screen adversary that has been overlooked for many years but will last forever in cinematic history books.

Red Lights Features a Phenomenal Cast

Released in 2012 by director Rodrigo Cortes (who also wrote, produced, and edited the film), the first positive that anybody would take notice of about the psychological thriller Red Lights was found in its all-star cast. Alongside Cillian Murphy (who plays Thomas Buckley), who is an assistant to university professor Margarate Matheson (brought to life by none other than Sigourney Weaver), names like Toby Jones and Elizabeth Olsen (of Marvel fame) round out the supporting cast. When Buckley and Matheson find themselves in a dangerous game trying to debunk a world-famous psychic named Simon Silver (since they are skeptic investigators), there’s suddenly much more on the line than just one’s credibility.

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One of the most significant selling points that Red Lights offers audiences is the casting of Simon Silver. While Weaver attaching herself to this movie gave weight to the protagonists, Cortes knew he had to have an equal force on the other side of Red Lights. He recruited legendary actor Robert De Niro to become Silver. Before filming, The Little Fockers star actually met with numerous mediums and came to the conclusion that there is something there that they pick up psychically speaking, but he doesn’t know what that abnormality specifically is. He might have never figured out the secret behind real-life psychics, but he certainly brings just the right amount of mysterious tension to the film. Real abilities or not, the various showdowns between Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro are ones you don’t want to miss.

Spoiler Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Red Lights

The Best Scene in Red Lights

While the scarecrow fight scenes are satisfying to all comic book fans and Oppenheimer’s eventual breakdown by Strauss still rattles moviegoers, something else is present in Murphy’s rivalry with De Niro that helps Red Lights stand on its own. Midway through the movie (more so due to Matheson’s mysterious death), Murphy is pushed into the lead role, and his character is driven to discover what is happening.

Even though the film admittedly gets a bit obnoxious with the macabre visuals, Cillian quickly brings a troubled man forward – one who wants to change the world’s perception of Silver and honor his professor’s name. On the other hand, De Niro plays a medium who seems unfazed by criticism. He seems to be so cherished by the world that the university that employed Matheson wants him to participate in a public research trial – one of which would prove his otherworldly abilities. The underlying hostility brews between these two until the very end, when a battered and bloodied Buckley confronts Silver in front of a packed audience.

But before we get to that action-packed finale, Buckley and Silver meet one-on-one earlier in the film, which, surprisingly, is a real treat for not only fans of Twin Peaks but also subtle horror. Murphy’s character decides to take the initiative and respectfully confront Silver at his professional suite (he takes private appointments with the public here). Cortes plants hints of a wider paranormal reach in these moments. When Buckley cuts the line and rushes through the door, an old man who is waiting reacts in an animalistic nature, almost demonic even. Then, when he is inside, a line of salt covers the floor to intercept what the audience sees outside.

Red Lights Features a Cillian Murphy Rivalry Like No Other

Never again is such a fantastical step taken, but it certainly makes the upcoming scene between these two that much more memorable. The empty room with Murphy seated on one side while De Niro walks into the frame from behind a curtain on the other solidifies the power structure between hero and villain (compared to Murphy’s role in the Batman trilogy). The empty but stylized room with red and black colors lining the decor helps to freeze the animosity in place – something that later came into play through Oppenheimer – a formal setting filled with quiet rivals.

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Some may say that Cortes takes the aforementioned sophisticated moment and turns it inside out for the conclusion (and not in the best ways). The scene is now set in a theater with onlookers, Silver’s identity is revealed, and there are more theatrical explosions and shakes than one can count. While the contrast can be jarring, Murphy and De Niro’s back and forth makes the movie. Silver tries to keep his calm composure but cannot do so when terrifying events arise that are not his doing.

In such a grotesque state, Buckley finally gets what he wants while facing his own secret head-on. Their adversary has led them both to a moment they will never forget, and one that cements Murphy’s acting ability to make any feud feel as important as the last one. Red Lights is available to stream on Peacock, Tubi, and Pluto TV.