by Mark Murton

Directed by: Tony Kaye

This review contains a Severe Implied Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody), a substitute teacher who tries not to get attached to anyone, has his life transformed by three women he encounters; a troubled student, a fellow teacher and a teenage prostitute.

Kitty Cameo: One day at the school a ginger and white cat is seen stalking across a patch of grass before being gathered up by a boy named David (Lucian Maisel).

Implied Kitty Carnage Warning! As David turns away with the cat a hammer is seen sticking ominously out of the back pocket of his jeans.

In the next scene, David is in the gym with four other boys who are watching as he repeatedly stabs a knife into something unseen (though clearly meant to be the cat) in his rucksack. They are discovered by Barthes who angrily sends the other boys away and leads David, whose hands are covered with blood, from the gym (the cat is thankfully not shown). The scene cuts to the office of the School Guidance Counsellor, Dr. Doris Parker (Lucy Liu), where David is sitting beside his father who is being told by Dr. Parker that, “Studies have shown that kids who are prone to hurting animals at an early age eventually fall into a high percentage of adults who may fail to develop even the most basic feelings for people.”

Final Mewsings: Our studies have shown that film directors who feature scenes of cat suffering lack even the most basic feelings for cat lovers.

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