In Defense of Anne Hathaway's Catwoman
After seeing The Dark Knight, I remember chatting with chiri_chan about Lucius' "should do fine against cats" line and how that might have foreshadowed a future appearance of Catwoman in the Nolan Batman films.
I felt a little uneasy about a new Catwoman because Michelle Pfeiffer (who thinks Anne Hathaway is "gonna be great") had been such a force of nature from my childhood in Batman Returns. Since I choose to believe that Halle Berry's version never happened, I held Michelle's in such high esteem that I worried whether or not it should even try to be topped, no matter who was playing her. The worst part was that as soon as it was announced that yes, Catwoman would be in the next movie, commenter suggestions kept bringing up the likes of Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie. Oh, the eye-rolling from me was non-stop...
On January 19, 2011, the world found out Anne Hathaway won the role.
Here are my reactions from that day via Facebook posts (the first being a response to a friend's link and the second being my own status update commenting about how I've had multiple and random people tell me I look like Hathaway...I think it's the eyes):
I've been riding the Anne Hathaway as Catwoman train since Day One so I guess it's no surprise that I get defensive about the subject. I am getting tired of defending her at this point (with less than a month until we get to see the movie) so I thought I'd write why I am psyched about her, argue against some fan criticism, and then, let it rest. After which, I'll let the haters hate while I enjoy her performance.
"Anne Hathaway is a bad choice."
I'm always confused by this argument. How do YOU know she's a bad choice? Have you read the script? Have you had a lunch meeting with Christopher Nolan about the story?
The thing people forget about casting is that it's not just "who looks the part?". It's about the actor being able to believably pull off what's required of them from the story. It's about their chemistry with the other actors (I remember very vividly thinking, "whoever it is needs to have chemistry with Christian Bale"). It's about the actor understanding the role.
Christopher Nolan didn't just wake up one morning and say "Let's get Anne Hathaway!" and it happened. There were auditions and screen-tests involved. I haven't seen a bad Christopher Nolan movie yet and since I think he is a tremendously gifted visionary director and storyteller, I'm convinced he saw something in Anne that we, as an audience, haven't fully gotten to see yet (even though the teasers from the trailers and TV spots have made me very happy). I think he's earned some trust with his Heath Ledger casting, folks.
I had plenty of scenes with Anne and I was there when we did the screen test for her. The thing that I said to Chris [Nolan] that day was that there were many very accomplished actresses who had read for that role. I'm terrible at auditions, so I'm very impressed when somebody really seems to acquire an ownership of a character without having worked on it or prepared for some amount of time. - Christian Bale
Selina Kyle is great. You don’t quite know where you are with her as a character and she injects enormous amounts of fun and interest into the movie. I don’t really want to talk too much about it; I want people to see her because Anne’s great in the movie. - Emma Thomas
I think what Anne has done will be extremely surprising to people. I don’t think people have any idea what they’re in for with this character. She owns it in a way that was far beyond anything I could have hoped for and she makes it possible for you to believe in this extraordinary, beautiful, sexy, frightening, dark character. She makes it completely believable and compelling. I think people are going to be stunned when they see what she’s done.
- Christopher Nolan
When the people involved in the movie and have seen what Anne has been doing say awesome things about her, that should encourage everyone. Sure, movie people want to promote their movie and say everyone in it is great, but these are people who I believe consider these Batman films to be more than just a job. Christian, Emma, Christopher, Jonathan..they all really care about this story because it's THEIRS. They wouldn't entrust their baby to just anybody. For them to say how great Anne is as Selina Kyle/Catwoman says a lot.
"She's not sexy enough!"
I guess we have a very different definition of "sexy"...
"But, she's been in all those Rom-Coms!"
Considering Selina Kyle/Catwoman is one of Batman's great loves (if not THE great love), the actress playing her needs to be believable in having feelings for Bruce Wayne/Batman. Who better to play a love interest than a woman who has lots of experience in those kinds of roles?
Selina Kyle/Catwoman also has a great sense of humor so having an actress who can play comedy is an asset, not a hindrance.
"I don't think she's a good actress."
Anne Hathaway has been nominated for a whole slew of awards, including an Oscar, so even if you, personally, don't like her as actress or think she doesn't do a good job, the industry disagrees.
I've been an Anne fan since I saw the trailer for Princess Diaries when it was released in 2001. I worked in a movie theater that summer before going back to school and because I talked about how funny I thought the trailer was, one of the managers let me take one of the posters, where it remained hung up in my apartment until I graduated from college in 2003.
Lady has come a long way since that film in terms of her career and talent. She's only gotten better.
"I don't like her voice in the trailers."
I can understand being taken back from the trailer by the voice Anne is using as Catwoman, but knowing why she's using it is the cool thing to me.
Anne Hathaway didn't just show up on set and say her lines. She has actually crafted this character by going back and observing Hedy Lamarr, who inspired Bob Kane and Bill Finger when creating Catwoman. To me, that shows dedication to the role in creating a unique take. She's not just trying to recreate what others have done before her.
"That's not Catwoman! She doesn't have the cowl! She doesn't have a whip!"
Sorry. The cowl and the whip don't make Catwoman. If that was true, this would be the greatest portrayal of Catwoman ever.
I don't mind the lack of the cowl because we still get cat ears (which is really the important part) and it's a throwback to the Julie Newmar/Lee Meriwether/Eartha Kitt era.
The Nolan Batman universe is based on real life. A whip is completely impractical for a cat burglar in this story. Her belt (which is something of a visual replacement for the whip which is usually drawn around the waist to appear as a belt) that contains things like lock picks and safe-cracking tools is much more appropriate.
Hate on her all you want, but I'm pumped about Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises!
It's kind of nice to know that I'm not the only one excited for Hathaway's performance. It's like, me...and Hermione Granger. And, I'm okay with that.
Once I publish this post, I'm gonna shut my mouth on this topic and relish in seeing a new Catwoman grace the screen in the final act of the finest Batman films we've ever been given.