Catwoman [DVD] [2004]

Tracing the modern day Catwoman persona back to Ancient Egypt, the film starts out with an almost mythical subtext, as a mysterious, and very old cat called Midnight arrives in a city that which looks strangely like Toronto. At the same time we meet Patience Phillips (Berry), a ruffled, introverted, and shy graphic designer, who designs advertisements for a big cosmetics company run by the reptilian George Hedare (Lambert Wilson), and his frosty, but beautiful wife, Laurel (Sharon Stone). During the course of her day Patience tries to rescue Midnight from a ledge above her apartment and is saved from falling from a high window by Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), a kindhearted and studly cop.

One night, while dropping off a portfolio of material at the company's headquarters, Patience overhears some deadly corporate secrets involving some face cream that is deadly poisonous. The security officers' corner and murder her, but she is bought back to life by Midnight who performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her waterlogged body and thus endows her with super-human feline powers. Soon Patience starts to manifest cat-like characteristics: she begins to sleep on high shelves, leaps up on to railings, hisses at dogs as she walks down the street, and even eats cat food straight out of the can!

The film gets steadily campier and more over-the-top, as Patience - now part "Catwoman" begins to enjoy her newfound strength, power, and freedom. She goes to an eccentric zany cat lady (Frances Conroy) who explains to Patience that she has become a cat woman and that cat women were servants of the Egyptian goddess Bast. They date back to ancient times and reappear throughout history. Together with this knowledge, Patience equips herself with whips, diamond-studded claws, and sexy leather lingerie, and vows to take revenge on those who have "murdered" her.

Director Pitof has a real flare for the visual and he infuses the movie with lots of moody, over drenched colors, which are generally quite effective in adding a kind of overstated glamour to the proceedings. And the twisty camera moves and stroboscopic editing, does have a certain dissolute flair, which lends itself quite well to the cartoonish, almost music video atmosphere. Everything looks fake, sleek and model-like, and not at all realistic.

Thematically, there isn't much going on here. Although there are some limited attempts to instill some issues surrounding the value of feminine independence, and the emptiness of manufactured and artificial beauty. The script is frequently terrible, consisting mostly of lots of silly one-liners, like "cat got your tongue." The acting is passable, with Halle much more comfortable as the charming, self-assured Catwoman than she is as the crumbling, diffident Patience. But it is Sharon Stone who almost steals the show, playing it all for camp exactitude, and showing us that there is a still lot of acting life left in the old girl yet. Mike Leonard March 05.

The story of Catwoman is just right. A shy, pleasant, talented and hardworking girl who designs advertisements for beauty cream at a large corporation. Treated badly by her shortsighted boss and the person living opposite her (with his loud music), she is understandably fed up, however she does have some comfort in her kind friends, where she works and her boyfriend Tom, who rescues her from outside her window! She discovers that the company she works for is designing a beauty cream called Beau-Line which causes headaches, dizziness (her friend is using it) and if the person stops using it they develop worryingly severe skin rashes. However the villainess of the film, (Sharon Stone), who is the company's top model, soon to be replaced by a younger model, uses it to keep her beauty. It also makes her skin very hard, like 'living marble'. When Patience discovers the truth about Beau-Line she is disposed of and re-awakens with extraordinary cat-like abilities. This is done by Midnight, an extremely rare Egyptian Mau cat who breathes new life into her. She tested Patience's courage before, daring her to rescue her from outside Patience's window (where she meets Tom). Patience becomes a Catwoman, free from the conformities of ordinary women, free to roam around the rooftops in her home made costume (made from a leather outfit given to her by her friends (for dating emergencies) before her transformation, that she says she would never wear!), and brandishing a whip, which she uses to help her defend herself against attackers. I liked the fact that she is one of many Catwomen who have been selected by Midnight over many years, (which is explained during the title sequence). The fact that this has happened in the same way before (Midnight breathing into these women) adds an era of mystery and a twist to the conventional comic book characters, to the story of how women have evolved and of how Catwomen have evolved accordingly. Also what being a Catwoman means in today's modern society.

A very mysterious and clever film utilising effective CGI effects and a playful, effective script with plenty of familiar cat-orientated witticisms. What most impressed me was the way Klaus Badelt's music score effectively complemented the history of how Midnight got to New York (the opening credits), the love theme between Patience and Tom and Catwoman's playful, funky and sexy style as she walks in time to the music right at the end while wiggling her hips with the utmost confidence and a mischievous grin on her face!