Yesterday I was lucky (if you call it lucky), to catch a screening of The Cat’s Meow. This movie details the mysterious death of film producer Thomas Ince in 1924. Read my review! I look forward to your comments!
The Cat’s Meow — Far From Purrfect…
As we notice so often in Hollywood, “Celebrities are Above the Law�, seems to be the theme. Of course we all remember the infamous O.J. Simpson case. This theme, however, is far from new. And so goes the story of The Cat’s Meow…
The year is 1924, and prohibition is in effect. The influential William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann) has decided to have a yacht party and has invited some writers, some entertainers and some famous celebrities of the time. The party was actually centered on a producer by the name of Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes) who was trying to strike a deal with Hearst. After the yacht leaves, it becomes apparent that Marion Davies, (Kirsten Dunst) Hearst’s mistress and Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard) still have feelings for each other (They had at one time been lovers). As the partying, sex and drugs continue through the night, the highly paranoid Hearst reaches a breaking point…
The interesting thing about The Cat’s Meow was how it is based on true events. A fateful yacht ride led to the death of Thomas Ince. His death was named as indigestion and heart attack; yet, a doctor never examined the body.
The events of this night in November are narrated by Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley), a gossip columnist with the knack for destroying reputations. It just so happens that Elinor was asleep during the ordeal, this took away a bit of the realism. The movie begins in black and white; to show us how it took place a long time ago. It changes to color, as the yacht ride is about to begin. This excellent effect really enhanced the mood of the movie.
To increase the humorous aspects of the movie, the director threw in Jennifer Tilly as writer Louella Parsons. Her high voice and annoyance was quite funny at times, and other times she was quite annoying. Performances by Dunst and Herrmann were amazing and extremely realistic. For those not observing the murder the night before, there was talk about gunshots and they even joked about it around the breakfast table. A reaction like this is very realistic and well captured by director Peter Bogdanovich.
The movie wasn’t without its flaws. It was slow and shallow. Glyn explains to us how there are multiple accounts of what happened that night on the boat, but when we learn that she didn’t even see what happened, I felt let down. Her account of the story was only based on conjecture. What I meant by shallow before was how there is no mystery. There is little suspense. Instead, the movie was just another version of an old story, that most people today wouldn’t have heard of or even care about.
While The Cat’s Meow was interesting and thoughtful, it is not on par with many of the other classic murder tales or classic movies themselves. The conversations can get confusing and fact and fiction blend together. One of the most interesting things for me was to see Charlie Chaplin as a person. This, of course, was not the real Charlie Chaplin, but I have always wondered how he acts off stage. The movie is probably very true to this. If you came for a suspenseful mystery movie, you will be disappointed. The ending is the same thing as the beginning, so you already know there is nothing to look forward to. If you are a lover of movies that take place in the past, then you may also enjoy it. Anyone who knows of the Thomas Ince story will probably enjoy this new take on it. Otherwise don’t wrestle with this tiger.
Final Grade: C