by Mark Murton

Directed by: James Lahne

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

Synopsis: Taken hostage by bank robber Jake Sims (Stephen Dorff), unfulfilled housewife Charlotte (Susan Sarandon) forms a bond with her captor when she learns Jake stole the money to help his pregnant girlfriend Mindy (Elisabeth Moss) escape a home for unwed mothers in this made-for-TV movie

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The cat doesn’t appear until late in the film when Jake and Charlotte finally make it to the town of Lineth to rendezvous with Mindy. Mindy babbles excitedly as Jake drives. Suddenly she screams “Murder! Oh, Murder!” Confused, Jake quickly pulls over and watches in disbelief as Mindy unzips a bag in the back of the vehicle and opens it to release a tuxedo cat with a cute black smudge on its nose. She apologizes to the cat whose name happens to be Murder.

Mindy explains that cats were considered therapeutic at the home. Jake was under the belief that the home was like a prison but Mindy brushes off his anger and continues to ramble, passing Murder to Charlotte before asking to drive.

Murder conveniently stays out of sight in the back of the car as the story continues until, after visiting the town of Perth where Jake hopes to elicit the help of an old friend, they return to the car to find that Charlotte left the window open. As they search for the cat they somehow miss spotting Murder slinking across the grass nearby.

Murder’s final appearance comes in the film’s coda when, in a letter received by Charlotte, we learn Jake and Mindy have married and moved to Mexico with their new daughter, Lineth. At first Murder isn’t seen or mentioned but at the end of the scene Mindy, cradling Lineth in her arms, reaches down and picks up Murder for a group hug. The cat wrangler on the film was Pat Haldeman.

Final Mewsings: Of all earthly possessions cats are the most precious.

Relevant Links:

To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and X.