Surely we’d expect to have at least one prominent musical artist to be featured in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Cats, which is why seeing American Idol alum and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella previously in trailers was a pleasant surprise.
But the filmmakers had another treat: casting country superstar Taylor Swift as Bombalurina, Macavity’s (Idris Elba) partner in crime.
Prior to watching the movie, there was a bit of nervousness from me because of earlier news that some CGI re-work has been done. There has to be a reason if they had to perform some post-production enhancements. I am reminded of the horribly received Sonic movie trailers, which prompted some modifications. But the good news is, the new trailers showed a really cool-looking Sonic, the Hedgehog.
And that gave me some comfort.
There were a few initial technical glitches in the cinema. Fortunately we were not majorly spoiled.
The movie started in a high note: an all-out musical performance featuring (almost) the entire cast. At the spotlight is the youngest cat, Victoria (Francesca Hayward), thrown into a new environment she doesn’t know but one that she easily adapted to.
Cats singing and dancing to beautiful songs while jumping around the cobbled street is a sight to behold. Hooper was able to introduce most of the major cast in that first several minutes in a captivating musical number.
But that was also where the problem lies.
Given the intricate production design and graceful choreography, the movie felt boxed in. It could be a conscious decision or not, but the scenes seemed to lack the seamless transition necessary to pace the story forward.
Song numbers were performed one after the other, which isn’t exactly a bad thing since this is a musical. But that left little room for the audience to really immerse themselves in the story. It’s like taking one huge breath and diving down the water. There’s no time to breathe. By the time you get to the surface to inhale some air, your head is brought underwater again.
This is problematic for someone who isn’t familiar with the musical. If it’s the first time I’m being exposed to it, I’ll have a hard time getting to know the characters and their intentions. It was hard to even learn the names of the major players because they were always singing.
The challenges didn’t end there. That boxed-in-feeling may have also been a result of the lack of dynamic camera work, especially when there isn’t a song being performed. Or maybe it’s the characters?
I’m in awe that some of the biggest names are in this project: Idris Elba, Dame Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Robert Fairchild, Laurie Davidson, Rebel Wilson, James Corben, and Jason Derulo.
But as bright as their combined luster was, their impact as the tribe of cats was not as blinding. Their characters could have been performed by any other actors and the impact would have been the same.
I also noticed that they were breaking character at certain times—or was it the lack of? For four-legged creatures, many of them were walking upright more than crawling on fours. Their flexibility as cats were only mostly evident during dance routines, but shouldn’t they be paying more attention on their nuances?
I felt like watching people made up as cats and not cats behaving similarly to humans.
Thankfully, the unlikely saviors of the movie were singers: Hudson and Swift.
Swift was impressive as Macavity’s partner in crime. Her combined charm and talent made the song Macavity—one that’s originally sung by two cats—easily one of the highlights of the movie. The energy she poured into the performance was so big it was enough to make me overlook the missteps in the movie.
And, of course, there’s the iconic number; the classic song that transcended generations, Memories, performed by Hudson. It was all I needed to be fall a bit in love again with the film.
Photos courtesy of United International Pictures
