Cats (Tom Hooper, 2019) branded itself as the holiday musical of the year. Not having seen the musical itself, no comments can be made but even if the musical is good, the film does not do any justice to it.
Andrew Lloyd Webber composed the music so it makes one think, then how bad can the film be? However, a film/musical is not only composed of music. The only thing this film got right was the musicality. Other than that, the whole production is unfortunately a disappointment.
Plot
It is hard to really grasp what these cats are singing about. Roughly said, we have a bunch of cats who are excited to be chosen for something. In the end, one of them gets chosen, cries and flies into heaven. That’s it. The plot does not get any more explanatory than that.
What is Jellicle Cat for instance? What is the deal with being chosen? It is repeated throughout a whole song but even when the song is over, there is no way to grasp the place it holds in the story.
Actors
The variety and quality of this cast this film has is amazing. Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson… But big names don’t necessarily mean a successful film. The actors play their roles and leave. For instance, Taylor Swift’s performance was fun to watch, but what place did it have in the story? It’s hard to say. Rebel Wilson is hilarious as usual, but the musical doesn’t feel like a comedy at all, so these moments of laughter just stay in the moment and doesn’t contribute to the film as a whole at all.
Aesthetics
It is really hard to conclude this analysis without touching upon the horrific after-effect that the film has in term of aesthetics. Even while watching the figures dance and sing, one expects to be amazed but there is nothing to be amazed by. The dance moves are basic and the animation does not help at all in highlighting the choreography.
The settings are large and well lighted, however, once again, the animated figures placed in these setting ruin the depth of field and the general frame.
So the film has some amazing singing and music, but no depth, lacks an explanatory story and does not feel beautiful at all in terms of aesthetics.
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