Cat Person is a darkly comic US drama, directed by Susanna Fogel and based on a 2017 short story by Kristen Roupenian, exploring the pitfalls of modern dating. It tells the story of a university student who begins to see an older man after brief meetings and flirting over text. She becomes increasingly concerned, however, that he may not be quite the person he presented himself as.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- During an intense and prolonged scene, a woman scratches a man's face and bites his hand as she attempts to escape his home, resulting in bloody facial injuries in the aftermath. This scene also features strangulation and use of improvised weapons.
- Threat and horror
- A woman experiences a series of unsettling visions as she fears a man will become violent. A man sends a series of belligerent text messages and stalks a woman after she ends a relationship with him.
- Language
- Occasional strong language ('f**k', 'motherf**ker') occurs, as well as moderate ('twat', 'bitch', 'whore') and milder terms ('bullshit', 'shit', 'dick', 'piss, 'God').
- Sex
- There is a scene of strong sex.However, this lacks any nudity and occurs within a darkly comic context. Comic verbal references are also made to pornography and 'dick pics'.
- injury detail
- A feral dog stands over a bloody headless corpse during a nightmare.
Key classification issue: sex
The classification issues in Cat Person are comfortably accommodated at 15 according to our Classification Guidelines. However, the complex nature of the themes explored in the film – particularly around sex – had to be carefully considered so as to ensure that BBFCcontent advice represents the film in the most accurate and appropriate way for audiences.
For example, a significant sexual encounter between central characters Margot (Emilia Jones) and Robert (Nicholas Braun) engages ideas around consent, verbal and non-verbal communication, sexual embarrassment, ego and gender.
Visiting Robert’s house for the first time after a somewhat disappointing date, Margot wrestles with some doubts about her new partner: for instance, there is no sign of the cat Robert claims to own. In a moment of dark comedy, Margot briefly imagines herself chained up in a torture room as if trapped by Robert. Margot’s unsettling visions, which also occur at other moments in the film, are acute and sometimes frenzied, communicating her fears about Robert potentially becoming violent. These fears exemplify the quote from author Margaret Atwood on sex, which opens the film: 'Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.'
The scene continues with the couple kissing and moving to the bedroom, where Margot is faced with an imagined vision of herself who, acknowledging where the encounter is leading, asks if she still really wants to have sex with Robert. Pointing out that it would be ‘messy and hurtful’ to tell him she has changed her mind, Margot decides to proceed despite her doubts. She and Robert undress, awkwardly engaging in sexual activity on his bed. Though the depiction is strong, it lacks graphic nudity and is acceptable at 15 according to our Classification Guidelines.
The sex scene continues with Margot talking to the vision of her other self, their dialogue expressing her state of mind. It is increasingly clear to the audience through this exchange that Margot wants to end the encounter, but her fears about Robert becoming violent if she were to voice her true feelings keep her from speaking out. Despite her discomfort, Margot attempts to bring the encounter to an end quickly by encouraging Robert – who becomes more enthusiastic and rough – and ultimately faking her own orgasm.
The key question for the Compliance Officers viewing this scene was how to accurately represent the issues at play in our content advice. While the scene portrays Margot’s feelings of threat in the context of a sexual encounter, the threat itself does not appear to be sexual in nature. Robert’s behaviour can be deemed to be insensitive and heavy-handed, which seemingly contributes to Margot’s state of mind, but it is ultimately left to the audience to weigh up these factors for themselves. As such, the scene portrays the uncomfortable ambiguities that can arise around issues of sexual consent and communication between sexual partners. The sequence is sensitively handled, has a darkly comic tone, and focuses on inner dialogue rather than on a graphic depiction of sex.
The sexual encounter between Margot and Robert was subsequently viewed by the wider Compliance team, who acknowledged the challenging issues it presents but ultimately agreed that 15 is the appropriate classification for the film.
