Кошачье мурлыканье (2001)

2001 film by Peter Bogdanovich

The Cat's Meow is a 2001 historical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Tilly, and Ronan Vibert. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his 1997 play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince that occurred on William Randolph Hearst's yacht during a weekend cruise celebrating Ince's birthday in November 1924. Among those in attendance were Hearst's longtime companion and film actress Marion Davies, fellow actor Charlie Chaplin, writer Elinor Glyn, columnist Louella Parsons, and actress Margaret Livingston. The film provides a speculative assessment on the unclear manner of Ince's death. An international co production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, The Cat's Meow was primarily shot in Greece, which served as a stand in for coastal Southern California. The film premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2001, and was released theatrically in the United States by Lionsgate in April 2002. It grossed $3.6 million worldwide, and received largely favorable reviews from film critics.

Bogdanovich cast Kirsten Dunst in the role of Marion Davies, as she had "always wanted to do a twenties story. She has a wonderful period face, looks great in those clothes, and had great instincts." In the role of William Randolph Hearst, a different actor had been cast, but Edward Herrman replaced the unnamed actor after he backed out of the project. Eddie Izzard, who Bogdavonich had seen performing stand up comedy (and who was primarily known as a comedian) was given the role of Charlie Chaplin, as Bogdanovich felt her comedic sensibilities were compatible with the character of Chaplin, who himself was a comedic performer. Cary Elwes was cast as Thomas Ince, while Joanna Lumley obtained the role of novelist Elinor Glyn. Jennifer Tilly was subsequently cast as Louella Parsons, the forthright and nosy journalist aboard the yacht, and was offered the part by Bogdanovich, who had acted opposite Tilly in the 1997 television film Bella Mafia.

Though set in California, filming of The Cat's Meow took place in coastal Greece, and Berlin, Germany. Bogdanovich wanted to shoot the film in black and white to capture the feel of the silent era, but studio heads objected. (Black and white scenes of Ince's funeral, resembling old newsreel footage, bookend the film.) To compensate, the director ordered costume designer Caroline de Vivaise to dress the cast in only black and white. With only a few weeks to prepare prior to the start of filming, she resorted to shopping in secondhand stores for vintage clothing. Bogdanovich agreed to her request to have some silver and gold on the costumes when many of the pieces she found were trimmed with those colors. The vessel used to represent the Oneida was actually the Marala. She was originally named Evadne, the private yacht of Charles Fairey of Fairey Aviation, and had patrolled the approaches to Bermuda, and its Royal Naval Dockyard, during the Second World War as HMS Evadne.

Composer Ian Whitcomb's score was augmented by original recordings that were popular during the period in which the film takes place. These included "Avalon," "Toot Toot Tootsie," and "California, Here I Come" by Al Jolson; "Everybody Loves My Baby" and "Wild Cat Blues" by Clarence Williams; "Stumbling," "Say It With Music," "Somebody Loves Me," and "Linger Awhile" by Paul Whiteman; and "Wabash Blues" by Fletcher Henderson. In addition, Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys performed many tunes from the era, among them "Ain't We Got Fun," "I'm Just Wild About Harry," "St. Louis Blues," "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody," "I'm Nobody's Baby," "Rose of Washington Square," "If You Were the Only Girl in the World," "Margie," "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?," and "Alice Blue Gown." After the film had been completed, music supervisor Joel C. High realised the version of "Charleston" heard in the birthday party scene was a jazz tinged arrangement from the 1950s and had Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys record an authentic 1920s rendition to replace it. Bogdanovich preferred the livelier, more contemporary sound of the 1950s version but finally was convinced by High to use the more accurate recording.

The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2001. It was shown at the 2001 Flanders International Film Festival in Belgium, the 2001 MIFED Film Market in Italy, the 2002 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the 2002 Mar del Plata Film Festival in Argentina before going into limited release in the US in April 2002. The film grossed $3,209,481 in the United States and $437,513 internationally for a worldwide total of $3,646,994. New York Times film critic A. O. Scott called the film "a modest, restrained picture, as small and satisfying as one of Woody Allen's better recent efforts. There is little to distinguish it visually from a made for cable historical drama. We observe the events from a polite distance, rather than being plunged into the swirl of decadent Jazz Age high life. The suave camera movements never quite dispel the feeling that we are watching a filmed play. But Mr. Bogdanovich shows his mastery in his work with the actors, who turn dusty Tinseltown lore into a spry and touching entertainment." "Apart from its theory about the mistaken death of Ince and its cover up, the movie's most intriguing theory is that Parsons witnessed it, which might explain her lifetime contract with the Hearst papers," wrote Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times. "The film is darkly atmospheric, with Herrmann quietly suggesting the sadness and obsession beneath Hearst's forced avuncular chortles. Dunst is as good, in her way, as Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane in showing a woman who is more loyal and affectionate than her lover deserves." "In some ways, Dunst gives the film’s most impressive performance," wrote Jonathan Rosenbaum, who called the film a must see. "What’s masterful about Bogdanovich’s direction is the cumulative detail, which adds complexity to incidental as well as central characters. He has a graceful way of switching viewpoints from one character to another and an uninsistent yet mainly persuasive sense of period. This picture might well be considered a more impressive accomplishment than many of his early pictures. But it speaks with a quieter voice, and what it says seems substantially more personal and thoughtful." Derek Elley of Variety described the film as "playful and sporty Dunst gives her best performance to date amid a skilled older cast. Believable as both a spoiled ingenue and a lover to two very different men, Dunst endows a potentially lightweight character with considerable depth and sympathy." "Elegant, funny and unexpectedly touching, this whodunit about a murder aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst represents a bracing comeback for Peter Bogdanovich," wrote Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers. "Dunst, the teen queen of Bring It On and Crazy/Beautiful, is showstoppingly good, finding humor, heart and surprising gravity in a character often dismissed as a gold digger." James Christopher of The Times wrote, "The unexpected charm of Bogdanovich's film is that he paints a social scenario worthy of Decline and Fall. His cast are comically hollow and effortlessly insincere Kirsten Dunst is a marvellous tease as Marion; Eddie Izzard is a manly Chaplin; and Herrmann is hypnotic as the infatuated host who is richer than God." In the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas stated, "Peter Bogdanovich, who knows his Hollywood history probably better than any other American director, works from Steven Peros' amusing yet poignant script to tell the popular version of the legend in clever and entertaining fashion, loaded with authentic and convincing details." "What a tonic to be treated to a movie for that most uncourted, ignored and generally dissed of demographics: the grown ups," wrote Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post. "Based on an urban legend that has been quietly circulating around Hollywood for almost four decades, The Cat's Meow would be grounds for libel if the libeled one were still alive Bogdanovich directs The Cat's Meow with unfussy clarity, introducing a crowded cast of characters with quick scenes that immediately convey who they are and what they're up to. In the 1970s films The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, Bogdanovich coaxed some wonderful performances from his actors, and he clearly hasn't lost that touch: Herrmann inhabits Hearst completely (he even bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the late publisher). Dunst, heretofore relegated to kittenish teen roles, comes as close to capturing Davies' effervescence and spontaneity as anyone has (and no one has). Izzard is also very good as Chaplin." "Bogdanovich's silent crosscutting between close ups of the characters helps to shorn the film of its theatrical origins," wrote Peter Tonguette in The Film Journal. "Bogdanovich's sensitivity towards his characters and outright insistence that we see even the most gluttonous and poisonous among them as human beings is rare, and commendable, indeed."

Kirsten Dunst was named Best Actress at the Mar del Plata Film Festival.

Lions Gate Entertainment released The Cat's Meow on VHS (UPC 031398809531) and DVD (UPC 031398809920) in 2002. A signature series DVD (UPC 031398849520) was released in 2003.