Rats And Cats

The writers of Rats And Cats, Jason Gann and Adam Zwar, also star in this black comedy and that is probably the film’s greatest weakness, for though the script is rich with potential, it is largely squandered by the limited performances.

Gann, amusing as he is as a kind of cross between Russell Crowe and Ricky Gervais, is never remotely probable as a TV star and Zwar as his interlocutor, remains blandly inexpressive throughout. Partly the responsibility must also lie with debut feature director Tony Rogers who helmed the successful off-beat television series Wilfred (many of the crew of which worked on this film). He doesn’t quite manage to differentiate between dead-pan and dull, with too often the film feeling like the latter when it is trying to be the former, the emotional “disconnect” which is the core mood seeming too forced to win us over. In this respect only the character of Bruce, Darren’s dim-witted right-hand-man, played by Paul Denny, convinces.

Gann plays Darren McWarren, a once-successful television actor who has retreated to his home town on the Victorian coast where he plays in a heavy rock band, Black Diamond, and trades off his reputation with the locals. Zwar is a pop cultural magazine journo who tracks him down for a 'Where Are They Now?' feature.

There are plenty of amusing tid-bits and satirical bon-mots in the film, which largely revolves around Darren’s self-delusional character It really is a pity however that so many don’t come off as they should, particularly as the production design and Anna Howard’s HD photography are so spot-on in creating the perfect back-water setting for this story of the distaff side of stardom.

 

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