Catwoman (2004)

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Director:

Pitof

Writers (WGA):

Bob Kane (characters)
Theresa Rebeck (story) ...

Release Date:

23 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Fantasy

Tagline:

CATch Her In IMAX

Plot:

A shy woman, endowed with the speed, reflexes, and senses of a cat, walks a thin line between criminal and hero, even as a detective doggedly pursues her, fascinated by both of her personas.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | One Word Title | Cat Woman | Animal In Title | Wtf

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Patience Phillips - Catwoman
Benjamin Bratt	...	Tom Lone
Sharon Stone	...	Laurel Hedare
Lambert Wilson	...	George Hedare
Frances Conroy	...	Ophelia
Alex Borstein	...	Sally
Michael Massee	...	Armando
Byron Mann	...	Wesley
Kim Smith	...	Drina
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Rocker
Peter Wingfield	...	Dr. Ivan Slavicky
Berend McKenzie	...	Lance
Chase Nelson-Murray	...	Kid #1
Manny Petruzzelli	...	Kid #2
Harley Reiner	...	Kid #3

Also Known As:

Untitled 'Batman Returns' Spin-off (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

104 min | Canada:87 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (No. 41022) | Japan:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:10 | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Germany:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

4th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Three Egyptian Mau cats played the role of Midnight.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Catwoman is running the chains through the Hedare trucks, she is seen feeding chain over the drive axle of a truck. In the next scene when she drives away only the front left steering tires are pulled off by the chain.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Catwoman: [voiceover] It all started on the day that I died. If there had been an obituary, it would have described the unremarkable life of an unremarkable woman, survived by no one. But there was no obituary, because the day that I died was also the day I started to live. But that comes later. This was my life. Days blended together, consistently ordinary, thanks to a job that was the practical version of my passion. I was supposed to be an artist by now. Instead, I was designing ads for beauty cream.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe: Disc Six (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Clever Kicks

I loved it!

Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is a visual artist who is stuck working in the advertising division of a large beauty product manufacturer, Hedare. When she acquires information that could potentially put the company out of business, they try to dispose of her. Because she had previously, unwittingly passed a "test", however, she is saved by a group of cats and transformed into a Catwoman.

First, let me note that I loved this film. It's a 10 out of 10 for me. Since I'm well aware that most critics, professional and amateur alike, have trashed this film, I'll focus on why I thought it was so good. Maybe this will help some new viewers consider giving it a look, and possibly encourage some reevaluation by those who have already seen the film.

The script immediately drew me into the film, and although I'm male, I identified with Patience. I'm also a visual artist. I have also worked for a company similar to Hedare in the past (although a much smaller and less nefarious beauty product company). I lived in an apartment that looked, on the outside, almost exactly the same as Patience's apartment complex. I also had neighbors who night after night played loud music or television until three or four a.m., while I first tried to block out the sound in any way that I could, then asked politely for them to turn the music down, and so on, until I finally called the cops on them so I could get some sleep.

Not that I need to identify with a character to like a film, but that made this one have extra resonance with me in the beginning. Additionally, I was immediately drawn in by the fantastic cinematography and set design. Those kinds of things are just as important in a movie as the story is. Film is a visual and aural artform. The whole package is important. Creative, attractive visuals such as those in Catwoman are part of the package.

The script, including the subtexts, worked well for me. Catwoman is a film about discovering identities, peeling away literal and metaphorical masks, and the difference between various stages of public versus private "faces". That the plot is centered on a beauty product manufacturer, then, is perfect. These themes permeate every aspect of the film. For example, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt) is continually peeling away the appearances of Patience, throughout the length of the film, and Patience is doing the same for herself--discovering her "true self". I can't think of a scene that doesn't touch on this theme in some way. That's very clever and thought-provoking scriptwriting, and it doesn't end there. There are also themes about femininity cleverly woven through the film, for example.

I thought the cast did a fantastic job. Berry is great as a Catwoman, and subtly referenced most of the previous screen Catwomen. She also incorporated a lot of crafty cat-like behavior. I enjoyed the supporting cast, especially Alex Borstein as Patience's friend, Sally. The effects worked well for me, and at times they were also very subtle and clever, such as Catwoman's whip representing a tail in many shots (most of this was achieved via digital effects). I was also impressed with the creativity and different approach of many of the fight scenes. It was nice to see Brazilian martial arts incorporated for a change.

Some of the negative criticism probably stems from a kind of purism that is disproportionately found among comic book fans when it comes to comic book films. I'm not much of a purist, but in any event, for anyone paying close attention, you'd note that Berry's character isn't supposed to be Selina Kyle. In the mythology of as presented here, "Catwoman" isn't a lone token, but a type. Patience is just another instantiation of a long line of catwomen. So departures from previous portrayals of Selina Kyle aren't relevant, even if we believed that filmmakers were obligated in some way to previous depictions of the "same" fictional characters (which I don't believe, not being a purist).

Catwoman is worth a (second) chance if you can leave some of your preconceptions at the door and if you're prepared to think a bit about a comic book film.