Attempting to implement a somewhat Lynchean narrative in your film debut as director is not exactly an easy thing to do, but that is exactly what Xuerui Wang attempted with “The Cat in Me”. Was he rewarded for his bravery though?
“The Cat in Me” is screening at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival
Meno is a small time actor, who has a relationship with his agent. However, he is suffering from an intense identity crisis, particularly because everyone in his life somewhat bully him, including aforementioned agent and the director of the movie he is working on. To him, not reacting to their behavior makes him a fish, a being that is just accepts what other beings do to it, as a scene in the restaurant so eloquently demonstrates. However, as time passes and nothing seems to change, Meno decides to transform to a cat, a being that reacts in any kind of bad behavior towards it, either by retaliation or by leaving. As his situation in both film and real life worsens and the two begin to become one in his mind, so his transformation progresses.
Xuerui Wang uses a number of narrative “tricks” including the film within the film, the blurring of fantasy and reality and some splashes of surrealism, in order to present the consequences intense pressure can have on the protagonist. The fact that his transformation to a cat also results in violence seems to comment on the way violence is created, and particularly how people who are considered “weak” and “unimportant” by those around, occasionally find it their only choice. And while the message becomes at least partially clear, the aforementioned tricks seem to create more confusion about the whole concept, and in essence promoting the director's abilities that actually adding to the film.
On the other hand, in terms of visuals, this approach works quite well, resulting in a number of impressive scenes, as the one with the goldfish in the sink, which also benefit the most by Khoi Nguyen's stylish cinematography. Oliver Li's editing retains a relatively fast pace and a sense of disorientation through the succession of scenes, which mirror the mentality of the protagonist.
Kyle Mac as Meno gives a very convincing performance, highlighting his angst, confusion and transformation in excellent fashion.
To answer the question posed in the prologue, Xuerui Wang seems to have understood how Lynch works in his movies, but needs a bit more time (and probably a feature length film) in order to implement this knowledge fully, particularly in terms of narrative. “The Cat in Me”, however, is definitely a hopeful debut.
