top of page
Search

Streaming: Cat Person (2023) by Susanna Fogel: The Anxiety of Modern Dating

Summary of Movie: The Disconnect Between Text Fantasy and Physical Reality

Cat Person is a psychological thriller and dark comedy based on the viral New Yorker short story. It chronicles the relationship between a college student, Margot, and an older man, Robert, which develops into an intense text flirtation but quickly descends into unnerving discomfort when they meet in person. The film is a study of modern dating anxiety, projection, and the blurred lines of consent, culminating in a dramatic, controversial third-act switch to an explicit thriller/horror.

  • Summary of Content: College sophomore Margot (Emilia Jones) starts flirting with cinema regular Robert (Nicholas Braun). Their bond is witty and engaging over text, but Robert is awkward and unappealing in person. Margot’s internal monologue is visualized through anxieties and fantasies, as she struggles to end the relationship, fearing Robert's reaction. The film dissects the gray areas of consent and miscommunication, before taking a sharp, polarizing turn toward a literal stalker/horror scenario in the extended ending.

  • Movie Trend is About: Viral IP Adaptation focusing on Zeitgeist Social Commentary. It capitalizes on the cultural notoriety of the source material to explore contemporary anxieties around gender dynamics and dating.

  • Social Trend is About: The Post-Me Too Dating Anxiety, specifically the psychological fear and rationalizations young women employ when navigating potentially dangerous heterosexual power dynamics.

  • Info About Director: Directed by Susanna Fogel (The Spy Who Dumped Me, The Flight Attendant), who specializes in balancing comedy with dark or dramatic themes, using an accessible, stylistic approach.

  • Major Awards and Nominations: No major awards listed, but it premiered at Sundance 2023, generating high press. It has a 6.0 IMDb User Rating and a low 48 Metascore, indicating a highly polarizing reception.

  • Box Office: Very low Gross Worldwide of $372,570, suggesting a failure to convert cultural talk into commercial success.

Insight: Filmmakers can use pre-existing viral intellectual property (IP) to secure financing and a release platform, but extending a nuanced, ambiguous short story into a feature film, especially with a jarring genre shift, risks alienating both critics and fans of the source material.

Why it is Trending: Viral Source and Polarizing Execution

The film is trending due to the massive cultural impact of the original Cat Person short story and the ensuing fierce debate over the film's creative choices.

  • The Cultural Conversation Hook: The film is based on a piece of fiction that sparked an "internet-breaking" debate about the unreadability of men and the fear women carry in daily life. The film's existence immediately reawakens this discussion.

  • Nicholas Braun's Casting: Casting Nicholas Braun (known for playing the gangly, awkward Cousin Greg on Succession) as the unnerving Robert was a brilliant and highly discussed choice that perfectly fit the character's "schlubby, unreadable guy" description.

  • The Tonal Mismatch: The film's trending topic quickly became the controversial shift in the final act. Critics argued the move from psychological realism to melodramatic horror "torpedoed" the tale, making the conversation about what the movie should have been rather than what it was.

Insight (Filmmakers): The film demonstrates the high risk of literalizing ambiguity in a beloved source text; while the adaptation generated significant media coverage (80 Critic Reviews), the commercial and critical scores suffered due to the deviation.

Insight (Consumers): The film appeals to viewers who want to engage in a post-film debate about gender dynamics, consent, and the responsibility of the characters, regardless of the film's quality.

Why to Watch This Movie: Uncomfortable Authenticity and Casting Against Type

Viewers should watch Cat Person for its uncomfortably authentic depiction of modern text-based relationships and the standout performances that ground the film's central psychological tension.

  • The Sex Scene of Disassociation: The film features a "horribly well-realized sex scene" that uses visual metaphors and an internal monologue (multiple Margots) to depict the young woman's mental disassociation and her fear-driven compliance—a unique and critically noted sequence about the gray areas of consent.

  • Emilia Jones's Interiority: Emilia Jones delivers a compelling performance that captures Margot's vulnerability and complex interiority, allowing the audience to experience her anxiety and projection directly.

  • A Timely Debate Starter: The film is a challenging, provocative watch that successfully achieves the directors' goal of exploring the "gray areas" of dating and making audiences feel intensely about the characters' choices.

Insight (Filmmakers): Using visual stylistic elements (fantasy sequences, split-screen) to externalize a character's internal monologue is an effective way to adapt first-person, highly introspective source material to the screen.

Insight (Consumers): This is a must-see for viewers who appreciate psychological dramas that dissect the flaws of their protagonists and are not afraid to be deliberately unsettling or unsatisfying.

What Trend Is Followed? The Anxious Auteur

Cat Person follows the trend of Auteur-Driven Psychological Thrillers Focused on Contemporary Gender Dynamics.

  • Focus on Female Interiority: The film is highly focused on the subjective experience and paranoia of its young female protagonist, a trend seen in recent films that dissect female anxieties in a world perceived as hostile.

  • The Ambiguous Threat: It capitalizing on stories where the threat is not supernatural or immediately obvious but psychological, residing in the potential for male insecurity or awkwardness to turn dangerous.

  • Adapting Cultural Artifacts: The success of the source material highlights a trend of media producers seeking out and adapting viral articles, essays, and short stories that capture a specific cultural moment, giving "Cat Person" the status of a contemporary cultural artifact.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • Contemporary social debates, particularly around gender and power, can be effectively dramatized by filtering them through the hyper-subjective lens of a single, anxious protagonist.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • If you appreciate films that prompt discussion and don't offer easy answers about a character's guilt or innocence, this movie fits the mold of a "discourse-generating" film.

Movie Plot: From Flirtation to Fatal Fantasy

The movie plot centers on the escalating tension and misinterpretation between a college student and an older man she meets at work.

  • The Meet-Cute and Texting Bubble: Margot (20), a college student, flirts with Robert (34), a cinema patron. Their relationship blossoms entirely through witty, flirty text messages, where Margot idealizes him.

  • The Disappointing Reality: They finally meet for a date, and Robert in person is awkward, insecure, and not the man from her imagination, creating immediate unease for Margot.

  • The Uncomfortable Hook-Up: Driven by a fear of confrontation or rejecting him, Margot agrees to go home with Robert and has sex she immediately regrets, a key scene highlighting themes of unwilling consent and disassociation.

  • The Digital Breakdown: After ghosting Robert, his messages turn from polite inquiry to needy, aggressive, and ultimately hostile, culminating in the text message that ends the original short story ("Whore").

  • The Thriller Escalation: The film extends beyond the short story's ending, plunging into a dramatic, high-stakes thriller involving Margot's best friend, Taylor, and a dark secret about Robert, turning Margot’s paranoia into a terrifying reality.

  • Implied Movie Trend: The move from character study to full-blown thriller in the final act indicates a trend toward Genre Fusion to sustain a feature-length adaptation of a minimalist short story.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • When adapting short, viral content, filmmakers must take significant creative risks to justify the longer runtime, which may involve a complete genre shift that redefines the source material.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The ending is a major departure from the original story and is the source of much critical debate. Viewers should be prepared for a conclusion that is far more conventional and action-oriented than the beginning.

Director's Vision: Susanna Fogel's Intimate and Anxious Gaze

Susanna Fogel aimed to bring Margot’s deeply internal, anxious, and speculative mind to the screen, particularly exploring the gendered experience of fear in dating.

  • Internal Monologue as Visuals: Fogel uses stylistic choices like funny, speculative montages and an uncomfortably protracted, self-aware sex scene to visualize Margot's inner thoughts and anxieties, avoiding simple voiceover narration.

  • Exploring the Gendered Fear: Fogel's direction emphasizes the quote (attributed to Margaret Atwood in the film's opening) that "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will murder them." This underpins the film’s central conflict between Robert's fear of rejection and Margot's fear for her safety.

  • Nuanced Ambiguity: Fogel and screenwriter Michelle Ashford sought to maintain the ambiguity of the original story—that both Margot and Robert are flawed and misinterpreting the situation—while also updating it to reflect the current, heightened culture of fear and male-female communication.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • The most effective scenes in the film are those that visually represent psychological states, demonstrating the power of stylization to convey interiority without relying on exposition.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The director intends for the audience to question both characters and the nature of their communication, not just to see Robert as the unambiguous villain for the entire film.

Themes: The Complexities of Courtship and Consent

Cat Person is a thematic minefield, exploring highly relevant social and psychological topics.

  • The Disconnect of Digital Dating: The film explores how text-based relationships allow for idealization and role-playing, leading to inevitable disappointment and miscommunication when faced with real-life awkwardness.

  • Ambiguous/Unwilling Consent: A central theme is the "gray area" of consent—why a woman might go through with sex she does not want, driven by a fear of making the man angry, social politeness, or a desire to "just get it over with."

  • Female Paranoia and "Red Flags": The movie delves into Margot's deep, pervasive anxiety, showcasing how women are conditioned to constantly look for "red flags" and assume the worst-case scenario in male interactions for self-preservation.

  • The Insecurity of the Modern Man: The film also touches on the male perspective, particularly Robert’s fear of rejection, social awkwardness, and the way he lashes out with misogyny when his idealized fantasy of the relationship is shattered.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • Selecting a story with highly debatable and complex themes ensures a robust public and critical conversation, even if reception is mixed.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The film functions as a cinematic Rorschach test; viewers' reactions often reflect their own experiences and biases regarding gender, dating, and fear.

Key Success Factors: A Cultural Lightning Rod

Cat Person's visibility and impact stem from its controversial source material and timely subject matter.

  • Viral Source Material's Built-in Audience: The short story was so widely read and discussed that the film adaptation immediately generated press and audience anticipation.

  • Perfect Casting: Nicholas Braun's casting leveraged his recognition as a beloved, awkward character, subverting expectations to play a figure who transitions from awkward to menacing.

  • Controversial Ending: The decision to dramatically expand the story beyond the source material, introducing a clear thriller plot, ensured that the film would reignite the original cultural debate around the story's meaning.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • A compelling, culturally relevant premise can overcome mixed critical reception and modest box office returns by dominating the cultural discourse.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The film's "success" is measured more in its ability to provoke strong, personal reactions and debate rather than traditional box office or critical acclaim.

Awards and Nominations: A Sundance Premiere

Cat Person premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023. While it generated a significant amount of early buzz and discussion following its festival run, it has not received major, widely reported awards or nominations. The focus of the film’s reception has been on its controversial content and cultural resonance rather than on traditional accolades.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • Premiering at a high-profile festival like Sundance provides instant visibility and sets the stage for the film's cultural conversation, even without major awards success.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The film is an acquired taste, appreciated more for its thematic bravery and performance work than for technical or conventional artistic achievement.

Critics Reception: Divisive and Mixed

The critical reception for Cat Person was highly divisive, reflecting the challenging nature of adapting the source material.

  • Rotten Tomatoes (46% Positive): The consensus suggests the film is "a drawn-out adaptation that doesn't land on its feet," indicating that many critics felt the feature-length adaptation diluted the short story's focused punch.

  • Metacritic (48/100 - Mixed or Average): This score confirms the polarized nature of the reviews, suggesting critics found the film's attempts to expand the narrative and shift the tone jarring.

  • The Guardian: Described the film as an "excellent, thought provoking thriller," noting the director's success in capturing the unsettling feeling and the film's successful tonal switch.

  • Roger Ebert: Praised the film's light touch on the "fantasy" moments and found the extended, stylistic sex scene "funny and most insightful" for its portrayal of mental disassociation during an unwanted hook-up.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • Adapting a short story with a powerful, minimalist core is a high-risk venture, as adding too much material (especially a conventional thriller ending) can undermine the original's ambiguity and impact.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • The film is a must-see for those who were fascinated by the original story, but they should be prepared for a very different final act.

Reviews: Polarized Personal Reactions

User reviews are deeply divided, often reflecting personal views on the subject matter, continuing the cultural debate of the source story.

  • IMDb (6.0/10): This mid-range score suggests a general audience consensus that the film is watchable but not a standout, consistent with the mixed critical reviews.

  • Sleepin_Dragon (IMDb Reviewer): Called it an "excellent, thought provoking thriller" and pushed back against a purely "poor Margot, terrible and predatory man" view, suggesting Margot initiated the running and that the film makes viewers decide who is "guilty."

  • steveinadelaide (IMDb Reviewer): Found the film a "missed meow-ment for modern dating angst," arguing the plot "begins to unravel" after the original story's ending, opting for a "melodramatic, thriller plot" over the original's ambiguity.

  • michael-kerrigan-526-124974 (IMDb Reviewer): Praised the film for being "narratively simple, purposefully ambiguous," suggesting viewers who expected a clear-cut good vs. evil narrative missed the point.

  • Insights for Filmmakers:

    • The film successfully uses its plot to drive conversation, with reviewers often focusing on their interpretation of the characters' motives and the film's central message about gender dynamics.

  • Insights for Consumers:

    • Read reviews with a grain of salt; many are highly subjective. The film is best viewed as a catalyst for discussion about communication and fear.

What Movie Trend Film Is Following: The Socially Charged Thriller

The film is following the trend of the Socially Charged Psychological Thriller, a modern genre that uses thriller mechanics to explore pressing social issues. It takes the subjective anxiety of a social situation (a bad date) and externalizes it into a high-stakes, life-or-death confrontation. This trend includes films that aim to dissect contemporary politics, culture, and relationships under the guise of suspense and horror, offering social commentary as much as entertainment.

  • Insights for Filmmakers: This genre allows for both commercial appeal (thriller/suspense) and critical relevance (social commentary).

  • Insights for Consumers: Expect a film that is designed to make you think about social issues long after the credits roll.

What Big Social Trend Is Following: The #MeToo-Era Dating Landscape

Cat Person is a direct response to, and commentary on, the #MeToo-Era Dating Landscape. The original short story went viral at the height of the movement because it articulated the unspoken, defensive calculus many women perform in seemingly benign male interactions—the internal weighing of social politeness versus personal safety. The film, and its debate, highlight:

  • The fear of male fragility and the potential for a man's rejected feelings to escalate into violence.

  • The widespread anxiety around defining and navigating non-explicit consent.

  • The role of social media and texting in creating emotional distance and false narratives in relationships.

  • Insights for Filmmakers: Immediate, intense social conversations offer powerful narrative starting points.

  • Insights for Consumers: The film is a significant cultural touchstone for understanding the generational differences and anxieties around gender and power in modern romance.

What Consumer Trend Is Following: The "Discourse" Film

The film is following the consumer trend of the "Discourse" Film—movies that are specifically sought out and watched because they are known to be controversial, divisive, or essential viewing for participation in the current cultural conversation. Viewers seek this film to form an opinion and engage in the debate over its meaning, themes, and controversial ending. The film's low box office but high level of media coverage and social media talk confirms its status as a piece of cultural discourse.

  • Insights for Filmmakers: Generating a compelling, debatable subject can be more valuable than a huge opening weekend.

  • Insights for Consumers: Watching this movie is often an act of cultural participation, providing a shared reference point for conversations about dating and gender.

Final Verdict: A Flawed, Essential Cultural Conversation

The Final Verdict on Cat Person is that it's a bold, fascinating, and ultimately flawed adaptation that is essential viewing for its cultural resonance. While the shift to a conventional thriller plot in the final act disappoints many who loved the short story's chilling ambiguity, the film's success lies in its unsettling, hyper-subjective portrayal of modern dating anxiety. It remains a powerful catalyst for conversation about consent, communication, and the gendered experience of fear.

  • Insights for Filmmakers: Adaptation requires risk, but sacrificing a nuanced ending for a conventional genre climax is a major danger.

  • Insights for Consumers: View it as a 118-minute therapy session on dating in the digital age, punctuated by stellar, unsettling performances.

Key Trend Highlighted

The key trend highlighted is the Socially Charged Psychological Thriller used to dissect the ambiguities of consent and communication in modern, #MeToo-era dating.

Key Insight

The film's central insight is that the fear of a man's rejection can be more immediate and influential on a woman's decisions than the actual threat he poses, although the film ultimately suggests that fear can be justified.

Similar Movies: Psychological Tension in Dating

Cat Person belongs in a group of films that explore psychological tension and gender dynamics within intimate relationships, often featuring ambiguous or sudden shifts in power and threat.

  • Summary of Similar Movies: These films often start from a place of seemingly normal relationships and escalate the psychological or physical danger, focusing on the female character's subjective experience of the threat.

  • Similar Movies:

    • Promising Young Woman (2020): Shares the theme of a woman navigating the dangers and complexities of modern dating, though with a different, more driven protagonist.

    • Fresh (2022): A film that also uses the modern dating landscape (specifically app dating) to transition into a dark, genre-specific thriller.

    • Ex Machina (2014): Explores power dynamics, manipulation, and the perception of a relationship versus its reality, often relying on the viewer's shifting allegiances.

  • Insights for Filmmakers: The blending of dark comedy, relationship drama, and thriller elements is a popular, high-concept approach for contemporary social commentary films.

  • Insights for Consumers: If you enjoyed the unsettling, dialogue-heavy tension and the commentary on gender dynamics in the films listed above, Cat Person will be of interest.

Final Insight on Market Positioning

  • For Filmmakers: Cat Person is positioned as a must-discuss cultural lightning rod for the arthouse and streaming market, capitalizing on a pre-existing cultural debate rather than mass-market appeal. Its moderate budget and high-profile cast allow it to court both critical attention and younger, socially engaged audiences.

  • For Consumers: The film is positioned as a provocative, conversation-starting film that demands reflection on modern dating norms, offering a strong dose of anxiety and discomfort over traditional romantic thriller payoffs.

Comments

bottom of page