Halle has some catty fun

IIf you at least vaguely recall my Gothika review about four or five months ago (I think it was February), you’d know that I not only blasted that horrendously terrible film, but also Halle Berry’s questionable post-Oscar career choices after winning for her intensely heartbreaking performance in Monster’s Ball. Well, with my bringing this issue back up again, don’t expect a retraction – just call it a slight correction. I’m still mad at her for wasting her talent on such projects as Swordfish, X2, Die Another Day and the aforementioned Gothika, but after seeing Catwoman, I am now very glad she accepted to play the feline fatale.

Catwoman has been getting some of the worst pre-release buzz and word-of-mouth of any movie this summer, from its shunning of its original DC Comics mythology (Catwoman is no longer a villain, the film is set in an unnamed city – not Gotham – and is sans Batman) to that disgustingly unsexy leather-dominatrix costume Berry dons. However, as it turned out, Catwoman didn’t necessarily turn into this summer’s Gigli.

Berry plays Patience Philips (what a great name!), a timid, clumsy, incredibly insecure graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a cosmetics empire owned by George Hedare (Lambert Wilson) and his wife Laurel (Sharon Stone), who was the face of Hedare for 15 years. With the cosmetics giant about to release its groundbreaking, seemingly amazing anti-aging cream Beau-Line, Patience works on the ads for the product; but one night, she discovers that the cream has deadly side effects that make women look like monsters if they hinder its usage. Once the Hedares find out she knows this, they have her killed. Thus begins Patience’s transformation into the titular character, and if you remember how Michelle Pfeiffer became Catwoman in 1992’s Batman Returns (unconscious on the street, stray cats began surrounding her body and nibbling on her flesh), Patience’s transformation is somewhat similar, though instead of eating her flesh, they just surround her lifeless body as a mystical, mysterious (and impossibly cute!) cat named Midnight, an Egyptian Mau, gives her feline powers as Patience is reborn. Subsequently, Kill Bill-style, she promises revenge to those who had her killed, the Hedares, and tries to put a stop to the distribution of Beau-Line before it’s too late.

Catwoman definitely isn’t purr-fect (my apologies, I just couldn’t resist): The screenplay, for instance, is somewhat awful, with enough awkward lines and overly melodramatic dialogue to rival I, Robot’s even worse screenplay; also, Patience’s relationship with Detective Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt) is rather underdeveloped. However, everything the film does right compensates for all its flaws. Catwoman’s opening credits (the first three minutes) is one of the best parts of the film, as the audience is shown the importance of cats in world history: from Egypt to China to France to Russia and such cultures as witchcraft, as beautifully haunting music plays in the background. This is also where one-named director Pitof begins to show his incredibly stylish directorial techniques. Throughout the film, Pitof uses his camera with wonders; his use of long, fluid, agile and catlike tracking shots are one of Catwoman’s best assets, and he gives the film a spectacular visual energy that at times can be languid, and at times unexpected.

What’s interesting about Halle Berry’s Catwoman character is that she isn’t a superhero; though she has the powers of one, she uses hers for revenge, and not necessarily for the betterment of mankind. This ideal is very interesting to be seen played out, to see someone who isn’t trying to save the world, but what a regular, instinctive human would do. Catwoman, despite several imperfections, is a blast to watch.

Bottom Line: Catwoman is a flawed yet surprisingly fun and sexy exercise of cinematic stylishness.

Grade: B+

Movies

• Watch Catwoman.

• Watch the trailer for Wimbledon. This Kirsten Dunst-Paul Bettany vehicle looks like a very promising romantic dramedy I’m starting to get really excited for.

TV

• Watch Charla and Mirna on The Amazing Race. The best team this season, little person Charla and regular-sized cousin Mirna don’t let the former’s height deficiency prove to be a setback as they gallop past other underestimating teams.

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For comments, e-mail me at lanz_gryffindor@yahoo.com.