User Reviews

20 year old student Margo, while working at a cinema concession, encounters Robert. They strike up a text message-based friendship, although their personal interactions remain awkward and interspersed with Margo's imaginings of what might go wrong. This relationship develops to the point where they have sex, following which things don't really develop constructively.

I knew nothing about this film going in: I assumed from the title that it was going to be a horror a la Cat People. But no, it's a king of psychological thriller crossed with a feminist polemic (most of the creatives behind the camera are women, and there's nothing wrong with that).

And, to be fair, the film is about sexual power politics and, while it recognises that men can pose a physical danger to women, it also recognises that women can destroy men with mere allegations. It draws no conclusions, and that's fair enough, but it paints an unremittingly dark picture of what is essentially an ill-matched, ill-considered relationship arising from mismatched expectations and poor choices.

It's an attempt to do something worthwhile and interesting, and it partially succeeds, for which I praise it but, to be frank, it's a bit boring.

This was interesting. It touched on many issues in modern dating (consent, age differences, power dynamics, trust, 'game playing', when the same behaviour can be seen as creepy or attractive depending on who it is,lll from and the disposable nature of relationships) and wider issues too (feminism, friendships) and did this without really delving deeply into or really addressing them. It was also told from the point of view of one character and it would have been interesting to have had the views of the other main character shared directly and more explicitly. However, I found it well made and quite gripping - I was completely immersed in the story and couldn't wait to find out what happened next (which is pretty rare for me). There was lots of well aimed humour in it too. I found the ending a little dissatisfying and a bit of an anti climax - but it was well worth a watch - I enjoyed it.

I didn't have any idea what to expect when I turned this on tonight on Hulu. I saw the word cat, and the lead looked nice, so I thought I was gonna see a romantic comedy. Boy was I wrong. This is modern tale about dating, and the pitfalls of it as well.

People joke about meeting online, wishing they could instead have this meet cute that are in all the romantic comedies, but then real life is rarely like the movies. I do appreciate that about this movie. It tries to be a more realistic representation of the work it takes to date. Should I text right back? Should I go along with a date, even if it's not at a place I wanna go. Does this person really like me or are they saying all this to get in my pants? Lots of real life questions are brought up in this film.

The narrator is paranoid, but she probably has good reasons to be. But as a somewhat unreliable narrator, we see her envision all these scenes that never happen. They are her fears being brought to the forefront of her mind, and projected onto someone who may or may not be like that. We sympathize with her struggle to ask for what she wants, but we also wonder why she doesn't just communicate it directly as well.

As far as the male protagonist/antagonist (depending on the scene), we get a very bland view of him at the beginning. He seems like a late 20s/early 30s man, who watches way too many movies. His demeanor borders on the autistic, and I honestly think he was somewhere on the spectrum. He probably had heard online to not text a girl back right away so that she gets nervous and then texts a lot. We don't see him ignore her texts, but that's 100% what his plan was. He has been told or learned that communication is a game that men must play to keep a girl interested.

Then after the incredibly awkward moment where our female lead gains the power (awkward kiss), everything changes. She starts to recognize the weird things about him that she doesn't like. Does she say any of this to him? No. Is it partially cowardice? I would say yes, but also she clearly has this fear of him. A fear that she can't say no. A fear that hurting his feeling would lead him to doing something worse than awkward kisses or s*x. And man was it awkward. I've never felt so uncomfortable than I was in that scene. She basically goes numb and out of body to avoid the more awkward, but probably necessary conversation of telling him she is no longer interested. And once again for good reason. He is a tall man, much bigger than her. She is reliant on him for a ride home too. Which is also an awkward moment.

Male and female brains must see things in a much different ways. Because she clearly didn't want to have s*x with him, but he thought it was a great time. Part of this on her for refusing to communicate with him, but honestly he should also be more attentive to her body language too. It's a messed up situation, that could easily be fixed if the 2 of them never got to his house in the first place. She should have listened to her friend and got the Uber. The people that say casual s*x is normal, only believe that when the 2 parties are actually wanting it. In this case, there was no reason they should have been even thinking about this moment. But that's what texting relationships do. They give you a false sense of who someone is, and they make you think you have this connection, that you haven't actually achieved in the real world yet. It's not til the true connection happens, that you can feel a little more safe, or at least good about having s*x. Especially if you're texting all the time how much you like that person.

The caution I would give, is to slow down a little. Make sure you know who you are dealing with. Paranoia can be good, but a slow build up of trust is the key. In this hookup culture, women don't really know the man they are being so intimate with til it's too late. Caution is key.

And to the men watching this movie too, stop calling women wh*res when they reject you. Stop obsessing over their every text. Stop stalking and creeping out women. This makes all men look bad. The reason they say "All Men" is cause we could all be the ones who do this. As the gender with dominant physical strength, they are right to fear us, because we have been monsters for millenia. We need to be the generations that change that. We need to be more secure and less afraid of rejection.

Dating is hard, and this movie was a (somewhat) realistic view of how things can go terribly wrong. The house burns down at the end, symbolizing how both parties were responsible for the torching of their relationship. A relationship that should t have been only romantic, but about friendship too. When we ghost someone, or call someone a horrendous name, we damage the fragile relationship that men and women have. As in this movie, in real life we need to both communicate are feelings better. Otherwise we are left with toxic relationships and bitter endings. And as the end of the movie shows, we will just dive head first into the next one, not learning a thing.

Who are we supposed to side with here?

The man who's biggest "crime" was calling a girl, who completely ghosted him without providing any reason or closure, a "whore"... or the girl who fabricated situations and stories, broke into someone's house, assaulted them, made false accusations, then set fire to his house?

Seriously, I was on HER side until that final act, then she just went stupidly crazy and threw all the reason to support her away.

The dude was clearly autistic, although never said in this film; it was pretty obvious by the way he both talks and has some insane obsession with Harrison Ford.

Also.... THERE'S ONLY ONE CAT AND WE SEE IT FOR 0.3 SECONDS.

This movie was interesting, but I think the message I was supposed to get was that women have to be so careful with guys not to be murdered instead of fall in love... Though that's true... The character of Margot is completely insane and unlikeable. Half the weird crazy murdery stuff we saw was all straight from her mind or caused by her. I actually started thinking maybe she's the serial killer as the movie continued. I was rooting for Robert hoping she didn't murder HIM. Overall after the crazy climax of the movie, Robert came out looking like a normal guy if not a little nerdy and Margot came out looking like the insane serial killer... In the end her insanity cost Robert his dog, cats, house, car and job... I bet he really wishes he never met Margot with her serial killer obsessed issues.

What stuck out to me most was how much I related to the female character. I'm 57 and she is 20 but I could totally relate to how she navigated the short love affair.

The pattern is so familiar. Firstly, knowing nothing about him, she constructs an idea of him in her head, building up a romantic attachment. This attachment becomes so strong, she gets dependent on it and panics when he does not return her texts.

So, to get his attention, she resorts to texting him a photograph of her breasts. Her motivation to pursue him at this point comes from a bruised ego rather than anything real, from not being comfortable with the idea he may no longer be interested.

But then they go on a date. It doesn't take long before she realises they have very little in common, but she pretends to like what he does. When he kisses her the fantasy breaks and the power balance shifts, she realises he is not an experienced older man, he is actually inexperienced and awkward and a very bad kisser.

However, instead of ending it right there, she goes back to his house and ends up having really bad sex. We learn that she thinks it is easier to 'just go through with it' than to say no. She also does it out of a sense of obligation, she feels she is doing him a favour but she is not doing herself a favour at all. This is a common scenario, a default setting, women feeling obligated, to be accommodating, to not speak up or assert themselves.

I disagree that this is a man-hating film. The male character's point of view is revealed as the film goes on. He is understandably confused by her behaviour and near the end we see them curled up together as they shelter from the fire. They are both victims of something bigger. Society. Culture. Technology.

The sense of obligation women feel to just have sex when they don't really want to is a really big issue that needs to be addressed. And this film helps to do that... so well done for making this thought-provoking film!

Men are afraid what women will say, women are afraid what men might do. This is the trailer quote. For good measure the Margaret Atwood quote is added on screen. "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them" - Margaret Atwood. Now we know where we stand. Margot, a student, does a side job at a cinema when Robert, a regular there, asks for her phone number. Margot's friend Taylor keeps advising Margot about potential dangers from Robert and advises her how to keep Robert at arm's length. Robert claims to be a cat person but Margot doesn't see a cat on a short visit to Robert so this is a red flag that he might be a serial killer. Margot has a lecturer who informs her that some male ants will "get their "comeuppance" for not protecting their Queen and joyfully tells her that male Bees die from having sex the first and only time they do. Margot has sex with Robert when she doesn't really want to in order not to upset Robert who might do something if upset. So she pretends to have a good time and later dumps him by text. He's confused by all this having believed she reciprocated his feelings. Meanwhile Margot acts as if he's a serial killer.

I would say the first half is a dark comedy and the second half gets serious. I've only given it a 6 because it's not completely unwatchable but don't expect any serious answers as what to do about women who assume the worse of men.

Cat Person is best when you withhold judgement until the end as a viewer. Early judgement of this plot will lead you to misconstrue its ideas. I found Cat Person thought provoking, witty and well directed.

The plot of Cat Person is a real life reflection of Ted Mosby's "Dobler or Dahmer Theory" from 2000's sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The theory says that romantic gestures are only charming if the recipient is into the other person, making them a Dobler in the eyes of the recipient, referencing Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. If the recipient of the romantic gesture is not into the other person, the recipient views them as a Dahmer, referencing serial-killer Jeffery Dahmer. Cat Person explores this theory as it occurs in the real world and the consequences that can bare out of the poor reception of romantic gestures. In an era where sensitivity to this has heightened, Cat Person effectively allows for viewers to draw their own point of view yet it sincerely believes in the Dobler or Dahmer Theory.

It is cynical about the benevolence of any party involved in romantic affairs, putting multiple ways of coming up short in these situations on display for us to interpret. Nicholas Braun & Emelia Jones choosing this film as their first projects after Succession & CODA, respectively, seems to be a smart choice to me. Good film. Recommend.

Margot, barely looking 19, works in a theater that showcases old horror films and cult flicks. She encounters a customer who is obviously every bit of 35 who she imagines is only 25. If you're a woman over thirty expect to feel immediately creeped out. Her crush Robert is every weird neck beard guy on the Internet and she's too young to see it. However as a woman I still related to her torturous courting phase of texting a new love interest. That's the thing about this movie - if their icky age difference doesn't get under your skin THE IRRITATING REALNESS of their interactions will.

This is discomfort and annoyance as horror. It's quirky and funny but the kind of funny Curb Your Enthusiasm or Fawlty Towers is i.e. Hell is other people and every day social interactions are anxiety inducing.

Robert just gets worse and worse. He isn't nicer than you as an adult woman think he might get as the movie progresses, he is that creep that forces his stupid Star Wars movies on you, your own opinion as his date be darned. Even worse he gets this 20 year old girl to his house and starts acting 40, playing Depeche Mode. The sex is bad, he doesn't have the cats he claimed to have and he's every weird middle aged guy cruising for little girls and forcing his terrible personality on her. The only voice of reason in sight is Margot's best friend.

I'm not sure what the real point or message of this movie is but it's not pleasant to watch. Horror typically isn't but this is like...real life horror comedy and I'm not sure it worked for me.

P. S. This movie isn't "ambiguous" at all. Robert is way too old for Margot, he's controlling and violent, and while she does overreact somewhat anyone who is equalizing the behavior of an adult man in his thirties with a teenager needs their head checked immediately.

It's rare to find a film these days that has a young girl in the lead and she doesn't have any special powers. That's worth 5 out of 10 on its own for me.

A young girl is intrigued by an older man and as the relationship starts to develop she realises he's a bit of a loser and feels sorry for him so much she lets him bang her (badly) and then ends the relationship.

Things then deteriorate as expected, but I felt on the whole this was all done quite well and kept the viewer engaged without having to give the girl telepathic powers or the ability to start fires with her brain etc. Not perfect but well acted and occasionally funny. A bit different from the usual in this type of genre and all the better for it.

A super weird movie, well-made, well-acted with Rottweiler beginning and end. It has strong messages, mostly bad to neutral-bad. Notwithstanding whose fault it was, not the first time, won't be the last, but nevertheless it's well-depicted and most of all flows and glides semi-smoothly.

Younger persons will put the blame on Robert and older ones on Margot. Mostly. Though, it should be noted that the character of Margot was a total naive b. And that was played naively nice (whatever happened, that wasn't my fault !) and sociopathically ripe by the dangerously talented Emilia Jones.

Margot played with fire, got rewarded and keeps playing with fire! (the final bad message).

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 8
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 5
• Flow: 7.5
• Drama/thriller: 6
• Ending: 5.5.