College sophomore Margot (Emilia Jones, Coda) meets a frequent filmgoer Robert (Nicholas Braun, Succession) while working concessions at an art house theater, and soon flirtation across the counter evolves into continuous texting. As the two inch toward romance, uncomfortable moments and red flags pile up. Margot's gnawing ambivalence about their relationship blossoms into vivid daydreams where Robert realizes his most threatening potential. But is Robert really a creep, or just an awkward older guy who may (or may not) have cats? 

Director Susanna Fogel (co-writer of Booksmart) premiered her high-wire adaptation of Kristen Roupenian's 2017 short story at the Sundance Film Festival and reignited the national debate around Cat Person, the most-read piece of fiction ever published in The New Yorker. Like its source, this gripping romance-gone-wrong reveals how power dynamics and gender expectations collide in ways that make modern dating often hilarious, sometimes uncomfortable and occasionally…terrifying. 

D: Susanna Fogel, US, 2023, 2h