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.