More than a feline
Tale of recovering drug addict and his extraordinary cat refuses to play on mawkish emotion... and it’s all the better movie for it
WHILE recent moggie movies such as Top Cat Begins, Keanu and Nine Lives proved to be as much fun as having your face shoved into a loaded litter tray, this true story turns out to be the cat’s pyjamas.
Despite the cutest headline act since Bambi, the story is careful to steer clear of mawkishness with lots of urban realism in between kitty reaction shots. And if cat popularity on YouTube is anything to go by, this should prove to be box office catnip.
Inspired by James Bowen’s international bestseller of the same name, the movie stars Luke Treadaway (Clash Of The Titans, Unbroken) as well-meaning but weak-willed rough-sleeper James.
Still recovering from a heroin habit, his life seems to be on the up after being given a small flat, befriending a shapely neighbour (Rutaa Gedmintas) and adoptingng a stray ginger tom (actuallyally played by Bob himself ).
With the animal perchedhed on his shoulder or on hisis guitar, James goes from struggling busker to a favourite entertainer onn the streets of Covent Garden.n.
But even with his neww pal giving him a reason to get up, James learns that living a clean life has problems of its own.n. There’s the junky pal who threatens to drag him back to his old ways,s, the estranged father (Anthony Head) who seems to shun a reunionn
and, worst of all, the city’s dogs forever threatening to turn Bob into lunch. Naturally, we’re all here to soak up real-life Bob on the big screen and not for one minute does the endlessly purring pussy disappoint. With a deep ginger coat and emerald eyes, he’s as cute as you could hope for. The human cast may be on form but are reduced to supporting roles. Not that the makers allow the sentimentality to become cloying – one shudders to think how Hollywood would have approached the story – with the streets of London looking uniformly unwelcoming and the issues surrounding addiction presented unflinchingly. It all adds up to a redemptive and honest odd-couple comedy-drama – the cat’s whiskers, in fact.