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Berry is cat's meow despite formulaic plot twists
Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 - 06:26:45 pm CDT
BYL. KENTWOLGAMOTT
"Catwoman" is a flawed but fascinating picture.
It creaks along on a formulaic plot revolving around killer cold cream, of all things. But it introduces the most intriguing comic book-based central character since Tim Burton's version of "Batman."
Amoral and impulsive, this Catwoman is capable of robbing a jewelry store one day, then rescuing a little boy who is about to fall off a ferris wheel the next. And because she's not a superhero, no matter how tormented, she's far more interesting than the norm.
Catwoman appeared in the first Batman comic as "The Cat."But this picture, written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris and John Rogers, has little to do with her DC Comics adventures.Instead, they concoct a new character,Patience Phillips, kill her off and when she dies, turn her into Catwoman.
Patience (HalleBerry) works in the art department at giant cosmetics firm Hedare Beauty, run by tyrannical egotist George Hedare (Lambert Wilson) and his aging supermodel wife, Laurel (Sharon Stone at her iciest). When Patience stumbles upon the fact that the new miracle cold cream the company is about to introduce will eventually kill its users, Laurel has her killed by dumping her in a harbor.
When she washes up on the shore, an Egyptian Mau cat breathes new life into Patience's body and Catwoman is born. Once she figures out what has happened to her, courtesy of a cat lady (Frances Conroy of HBO's "Six Feet Under"), Catwoman has some unfinished business to take care of.
That business is photographed with great style by French director Pitof, who is making his American debut here, and the picture moves along just fine, even though it's too easy to figure out what it is going to happen.
The standard-issue romance is with cop Tom Lone, an all-American hunk who rescues Patience from a ledge, dates her, beds her and then tries to arrest her for murder. He's played by Benjamin Bratt. He's good at playing stand-up guys, but isn't exactly the deepest actor on the planet, which means he's just fine here.
But the movie belongs to Berry, who is convincing as the meek Patience, confused when she is initially becoming Catwoman and a full on, athletic superbeing by the picture's end. This isn't Oscar-level acting.
But it's plenty good for a comic book movie.
When I described the "Catwoman" setup with stars Berry and Stone, a woman who overheard the conversation remarked that the picture sounded like a male's ultimate fantasy. She was wrong.
Even with Berry's kitten-with-a-whip S&M leather outfit and the inevitable brawls with Stone, there's very little titillating about "Catwoman."
It feels like a comic book movie made for women rather than the adolescent and post-adolescent males that are the usual audience for such fare.That's another reason it's such a fascinating picture.
If there's a sequel, maybe they'll find a more original story to tell.
ReachL. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@;journalstar.com.
HH½
Director: Pitof Pitof
Stars: Halle Berry,Benjamin Bratt, Sharon Stone, Lambert Wilson
Rated: PG-13 (for action, violence and some sensuality)
Now Showing: Douglas, East Park, Edgewood
The Reel Story: Berry stars as the comic book character in this flawed but intriguing picture that introduces an amoral heroine in a very formulaic story.
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