Absolute Beginners (1986)

Directed by: Julien Temple

This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning!

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

Synopsis: Set in London in the late 1950’s, this musical finds a photographer named Colin (Eddie O’Connell) trying to win the heart of fashion model Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit).

Purr Blur: Near the beginning of the film Colin is walking through the streets of Soho and commenting on the action there. A woman steps out of a doorway holding what appears to be a black cat. A cat screech confirms this.

Absolute Beginners - black cat carried into street by woman as Colin Eddie O'Connell passes

Kitty Carnage Warning! We suspect this is not a real cat as the woman violently throws it across the small street.

Absolute Beginners - black cat thrown into street by woman in front of Colin Eddie O'Connell

Colin then walks one street over and the cat is tossed into the scene from offscreen by someone else. This time it is a real cat.

Absolute Beginners - black cat thrown into street in front of Colin Eddie O'Connell

The cat quickly exits the scene. It could be the black cat was meant to foreshadow the situation of the Notting Hill race riots which the film addresses later.