Starting with a quote from Margaret Atwood about how men fear that women will laugh at them while women fear that men will kill them, Cat Person is a film about dating, sex, and the different ways in which situations can be viewed, depending on your gender and whether or not you are wearing rose-tinted glasses of romanticism.
Emilia Jones is Margot, a young woman who ends up developing a relationship with Robert (Nicholas Braun). Robert is older, and seems a bit brusque at times, but he’s intriguing and good company in text message form. He also claims to have a cat, which is a good sign. Everything is turned upside-down when things don’t go very well on a date though, leading Margot to start questioning everything she has gone through, helped in changing her perspective by her friend, Taylor (Geraldine Viswanathan).
Based on a short piece of writing by Kristen Roupenian, Cat People is a film that could have gone in any number of different directions, from twisted rom-com to intense thriller, or even outright horror. The fact that it jumps nimbly between elements of so many different genres is testament to the fantastic script from Michelle Ashford and the direction from Susanna Fogel. While both of these women have quite varied and lengthy careers, there’s not much in their respective filmographies that rivals this, as far as I’m concerned, because what you get here is a thought-provoking look at the minefield of modern dating, as well as the smallest glimpse into the mindset of a woman struggling to enjoy relative normality while dealing with the stress and fears that men don’t have to consider. Brilliantly, however, there are also one or two moments that show issues very specific to men who are wary of being mistaken or misinterpreted.
Although everyone onscreen is excellent (and both leads now have a sizeable sample of superb onscreen work to explore, in films and TV), both Jones and Braun complement one another beautifully, the former often aiming to please and stay composed while the latter emphasises the clumsy and abrupt nature of his character in almost every scene. Viswanathan may seem a bit overly cautious and cynical at times, but she’s right to be that way, and viewers go into the finale of the film, a finale that will lose some viewers, armed with that knowledge.
Often keeping viewers locked in to Margot’s POV, the style of the film is one of heightened realism. It may not be an exact replication, but this is how the world can look as seen by a young woman taking a chance on developing a relationship with a stranger. It’s intense at times, and I am sure any woman you mentioned that to would roll their eyes and say “duh”.
Will this get through to the “not all men” people who keep missing the bigger picture whenever another news story breaks or another set of shocking statistics is revealed? I don’t know. I hope so, but I just don’t know. Much like one or two other movies released in the past year though, this at least serves as an opening for an important conversation that everyone should be part of. That’s more than some films do.
8/10
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