Cat Person opens with the Margaret Atwood quote, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” It cuts to the heart of Kristen Roupenian’s short story adaptation in clashing thematic intent and tones. Playing as a romantic dramedy that frequently spills over into psychological horror, the warring ideas and genres result in a disjointed, bizarre, and often cringe-inducing exploration of the modern dating world.
Twenty-year-old Margot (Emilia Jones) is a sophomore in college living away from home and working a part-time gig at the concession stand of a local theater that regularly plays repertory horror. There, she meets frequent patron Robert (Nicholas Braun) and strikes up an awkward flirtation over Red Vines. That uncomfortable flirtation becomes clear to outside observers that the much older Robert most likely isn’t a suitable match for Margot. Still, the young woman forges ahead, growing their romance through texts and uncomfortable meetups. The more the glaring divide between the pair becomes apparent, along with the red flags, the more Margot’s imagination runs wild, with her uncertainty about the relationship exposing her fears through vivid daydreams. The bid to uncover the truth of whether Robert bears ill intent or is misunderstood may derail more than just their romance but their very lives as well.
Director Susanna Fogel (co-writer of Booksmart) and screenwriter Michelle Ashford establish their protagonist’s hyperactive imagination early on with a nightmare sequence that sees a seemingly stray dog savagely rip apart her strict dorm RA. It’s a dream that comes hot on the heels of said RA refusing to let Margot bring the dog in from the rain, a means of letting us know Margot’s penchant for filling in blanks or desired outcomes with extremes.
It’s the extremes that underscore the disjointed vibe, as Cat Person toggles between awkward romantic comedy and nightmare dating horror movie so fast and frequently that it induces whiplash. The psychological horror doesn’t just stem from Margot’s daydreams but in the way she repeatedly ignores her inner monologue or the sound advice of her best friend Tamara (Geraldine Viswanathan) to force a relationship with a stranger over a decade her senior. The comedy gets pushed to extremes, too, with the cringe humor becoming so profoundly uncomfortable that the lines of comedy and horror vanish altogether in scenes. For the most part, though, Fogel cannot mesh the dramedy with the horror in a natural or even logical way. Though her feature does earn points for the most excruciating sex scene in recent memory.
Through no fault of her own, Jones struggles to engender sympathy for Margot’s plight due to a script that often prompts the character to ignore all reason and send indecisive mixed signals. Braun fares slightly better as the aloof, inexperienced romantic with massive temperament swings, effectively earning pity or ire when called for.
Cat Person highlights the hells of modern dating from the perspective of a young, rash woman, intending to work as a conversation starter. Except in trying to cover both sides of Atwood’s quote, what it’s trying to say gets lost in translation. Cat Person has a lot on its mind but lacks the cohesive clarity to communicate it all. Rare moments of charm, especially a supporting part by Isabella Rossellini, show potential, but mostly Cat Person amounts to a deeply disjointed work of cringe horror.
Cat Person premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with a release TBD.
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