Sundance 2023

Margot (Emilia Jones) is a college student and works at a movie theater where she meets an older man, Robert (Nicholas Braun), and they begin a "relationship" (so to speak). From Margot's perspective, we occasionally see her fears play out on screen, illustrating the threat assessments that have been trained in her everyday life. It's so much that her best friend sarcastically quips, "Being a girl is so fun!" This makes dating incredibly awkward, as evidenced by Margot and Robert's courtship. 

From cringe comedy rom-com to thriller, “Cat Person” doesn't always successfully balance all the tones, but I loved the exploration here. Michelle Ashford's script explores various societal dating norms but infuses them with a load of nuance. To Margot, these subtleties make it difficult to distinguish whether Robert behaves like a gentleman or a stalker. To Robert, he doesn't really know where he stands in Margot's eyes. Their learned attitudes about love and dating ultimately work against their courtship. I love Emilia Jones even more after this. She's likably charming and beautiful yet believably awkward. Braun is similarly perfectly cast. "Cat Person" will likely divide audiences, but I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to wider audiences seeing it.

— 4 / 5 ⭐