Dir. Pitof, 2004, USA, 100 mins
Cast: Halle Berry , Benjamin Bratt, Sharon Stone, Lambert Wilson
After discovering that the latest beauty product her company is preparing to sell is flawed and potentially fatal, Patience Phillips (Berry) is murdered and brought back to life by an Egyptian Mau cat. Inheriting powers of a feline nature, she uses this as an excuse to become a more vivid person. Turning into 'Catwoman', she uses her newfound powers to get her revenge on those who killed her, whilst gallivanting with a local policeman.
This summer presents a dilemma for any kind of movie. The releases of Spiderman 2, The Bourne Supremacy and even possibly The Chronicles Of Riddick, not only mean Catwoman has to be a fantastic work of art that will spread by word of mouth, it also needs to be a commercial film with a cult following. At least Catwoman has the latter.
Catwoman has unfortunately inherited some standard flaws, including debut director Pitof's dependency on the textbook 'comic book format'. For example, when Phillips teaches herself to become the Mr. Hyde side of Patience, it is as a PVC clad hero. It also seems that, and this doesn't just apply to the writers of Catwoman, many of the authors take on the task of re-wording classic characters or remakes by 're-imagining' the parts or plots. Which in this case is a waste of time as Catwoman has already been brilliantly portrayed by Michelle Pfeifer in Batman Returns. Unfortunately, all they've done is make the part acceptable for Berry. Her awakening sexuality is overpowering, which happily distracts from the appalling script and wooden acting, including a very overacted performance by Matrix Reloaded actor, Lambert Wilson.
Few things that are actually worth watching are Pitof's directing, which can be hypnotic, revolving around groundbreaking visuals, swooping in and out of frame and delicately piecing together the story with flying long-shot angles. Even with a sub-standard screenplay, Berry and Stone still manage to make this film slightly tolerable, with Stone's angst and boiling hatred for her husband twinned with raw female sassiness.
Of course, Catwoman, like many other adapted films, has the positively vibrant surroundings, the lavish, yet highly inpractical clothing and a pitch perfect score, created by Award winning composer, Klaus Badelt. And it proves, even in tight situations, Halle Berry always acts her whiskers off.
In 1992, Tim Burton created a world of fantasy, with characteristics familiar to the visuals of gritty film noir and pulp fiction. The world of Gotham City and Batman Returns, with its dark underbelly and creative villains, could easily be a thousand miles from the universe of Lake City and Catwoman , spawning nothing more than the modern touch, with trance music, revealing clothing and out-of-place accents. In a film where fans could expect a treat beyond belief, you can't help feeling unimpressed by the thin story line that doesn't once throw a twist to the predictable plot, the amateurish performances (note the security guard in one of the final scenes) and the predictable screenplay (also note the lone guard who just happens to be needed as Phillips is caught inside the laboratory). We could of expected a lot from Pitof and Catwoman, it's a good job we didn't.
Matthew Clarke
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