Bogdanovich ruefully links the allure of classic Hollywood and the ruthlessness of its potentates.

| Feb 22, 2021

This story about a possible murder isn't for kids.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 28, 2010

The strongest achievement of The Cat's Meow may be the performances, especially those of Kirsten Dunst (Davies), Edward Herrmann (Hearst), and even Eddie Izzard (Chaplin).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 15, 2009

The '20s-set pic is given considerable bounce by a splendid cast, led by Kirsten Dunst in an eye-opening perf as Marion Davies.

| Oct 18, 2008

Featherweight but fun.

| Jun 24, 2006

It''s still a tasty footnote in the chequered histories of both Chaplin -- rumoured to be Davies' secret lover -- and Hearst.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2004

The potential of this pure Hollywood Babylon story remains unrealised, instead playing out as half-baked Agatha Christie.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 4, 2004

The chemistry between the three leads is a cruel and perfect satire on celebrity love.

| Jun 2, 2004

As the story progresses, the tension dissipates, probably because once Bogdanovich has set his wheels in motion, he just lets them spin.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 20, 2002

Despite all the closed-door hanky-panky, the film is essentially juiceless.

Full Review | Jun 1, 2002

The result is good gossip, entertainingly delivered, yet with a distinctly musty odour, its expiry date long gone.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 25, 2002

[Dunst] brings genuine humanity to a role that could have been little more than a vampish gold digger.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 24, 2002

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 21, 2002

The visually stylish, if narratively stodgy, film is a parable of Hollywood success and personal failure told with authority by one himself a showbiz victor and victim.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 9, 2002

An elegant drama about power and its frightening uses, The Cat's Meow is the bee's knees.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 3, 2002

Bogdanovich, making his first feature film in nine years, simply seeks to tell a compelling story and to tell it well. This he does, if a bit sedately.

Full Review | May 3, 2002

It's pretty linear and only makeup-deep, but Bogdanovich ties it together with efficiency and an affection for the period.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 3, 2002

A solid, engaging period mystery.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 28, 2002

Primarily works as a reminder that Bogdanovich, who hasn't made a feature film since 1993, is still very much a force as a director -- and as another signal of Dunst's astonishing talent.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 26, 2002

Bogdanovich takes a tale of old Hollywood and infuses it with velocity and enthusiasm.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 26, 2002