CAT PERSON is another somber look at dating – GeekTyrant

Based on the viral 2017 short story by Kristen Roupenian, cat lover chronicles the dangers of modern dating and asks: when can you truly trust someone? I was curious to see how this could be more than a short film as the original story isn’t even 8,000 words. I knew there were going to be some big changes to the story, but unfortunately not all of them were for the best.

Margot (Emily Jones) is an average college student working in a movie theater when she meets the awkward but elderly Robert (Nicholas Brown). They soon bond over movies and start texting non-stop. But while her text messages are funny and flirty, Robert is a lot harder to read in real life as Margot makes up scenarios where he tries to kidnap her, murder her, etc. Despite having doubts, she continues to talk to Robert and even uses the fact that he has cats as an endorsement of his character.

cat lover desperately tries to fill two hours of screen time by adding so much unnecessary fluff that he ends up contradicting himself multiple times. While the original story ends abruptly with the clear message that sometimes people kind of suck, the film adaptation has several possible endings, but limps on to what is possibly the most unlikely ending.

When I say Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun have terrible chemistry, I mean it in the best possible way. I love these two actors and thought they did a fantastic job. I groaned and audibly laughed at how realistically some of the scenes reminded me of my own college dating experiences, as I’m sure many of you will relate. Despite a somewhat scattered script, this film is fun. Especially if you want to relive all your worst and most embarrassing dates.

Here is the description:

Margot, a sophomore working concessions at an art house theater, meets frequent moviegoer – and rather older local – Robert at work. The flirt over the counter becomes continuous texting. As the two move toward romance, awkward moments, red flags, and unease pile up. Margot feels both connected and reserved, while her nagging hesitations become vivid daydreams in which Robert sees his most menacing potential. As her suspicions and insecurities grow, an evening, her relationship, and possibly her life, begins to falter.

Cat Person is a provocative portrait of modern dating that examines the dynamics of power, the terrifying nature of some gray areas, and the way young women must balance their relationships with themselves and their lovers. Director Susanna Fogel (co-writer of Booksmart) brings these questions to screen with a lively tension that packs a punch, backed by terrific performances from Emilia Jones (CODA) and Nicholas Braun (Succession). Inspired by the most-read fiction ever published in The New Yorker, Kristen Roupenian’s short story Cat Person, the film continues a conversation whose urgency is clear, present, and dangerous.