Sundance Review: CAT PERSON is yet another sad look at dating

Based on Kristen Roupenian’s 2017 viral short story, Cat person talks about the dangers of modern dating and asks: at what point can you really trust someone? I was curious to see how this could be more than a short film since the original story isn’t even 8,000 words. I knew there would be some big story changes, but unfortunately not all of them were for the better.

Margot (Emily Jones) is an ordinary college student working in a movie theater when she meets the awkward Robert (Nicholas Braun). They soon bond over movies and start texting non-stop. But while their messages are funny and flirty, Robert’s real life is much harder to read, with Margot imagining scenarios where she tries to kidnap, kill, etc. Though she has doubts, she continues to talk to Robert and even uses the fact that she has cats as reassurance of her character about him.

Cat person he desperately tries to fill two hours of screen time by adding so much pointless confusion that he ends up contradicting himself multiple times. While the original story abruptly ends with the clear message that sometimes people suck, the film adaptation reaches several possible endings but continues to limp towards what is perhaps the least likely conclusion.

When I say Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun have terrible chemistry, I mean it in the best possible way. I love both of these actors and think they’ve done a fantastic job. I moaned and laughed audibly at how realistic some of the scenes reminded me of my college dating experiences, as I’m sure many of you will tell. Despite a slightly out of place script, this film is fun to watch. Especially if you like to relive all your worst and most embarrassing dates.

Here is the description:

Margot, a college student who works on concession at an art house theater, meets Robert, a frequent spectator – and a rather elderly local – at her workplace. Counter flirting evolves into continuous texting. As the two thumbs down to romance move between them, awkward moments, red flags, and discomforts pile up. Margot feels both attached and secretive, as her gnawing hesitations blossom into vivid daydreams in which Robert realizes her most menacing potential. As her distrust and uncertainty grow one evening, their relationship and possibly their lives fall apart.

Exploring power dynamics, the terrifying nature of some gray areas, and how young women must balance their relationships with themselves alongside their lovers, Cat Person is a provocative portrayal of modern dating. Director Susanna Fogel (co-writer of Booksmart) brings these questions to the screen with a vibrant tension that seriously strikes, aided by great performances from Emilia Jones (CODA) and Nicholas Braun (Succession). Inspired by the most-read piece of fiction ever published in The New Yorker, Kristen Roopenian’s short story “Cat Person,” the film continues a conversation whose urgency is clear, present, and dangerous.