Cat Person movie: the viral story that changed the narrative around bad sex finally has a trailer

cat person

Credit: sundance institute

Under Her Eye


Cat Person movie: the viral story that changed the narrative around bad sex finally has a trailer

3 min read

Cat Person promises to be a brilliant psychological thriller of a movie, boasting a bevy of stars from Succession and Locke & Key.


Cat Person, a short story written by Kristen Roupenian, set the world on fire when it was published in the New Yorker back in 2017.  Painfully relatable to many women at the time, it spun a story about a young woman named Margot, who – after a series of dynamic-shifting texts between her and a man named Robert – decides to have sex with him to avoid an uncomfortable situation. “Her revulsion turned to self-disgust and a humiliation that was a kind of perverse cousin to arousal,” reads one memorable line from the viral story.

The essay – which was described by many as being “bizarre, awkward, relatable and horrifying” – went on to become the magazine’s most downloaded fiction of the year. And, even now, just saying the words ‘Cat Person’ triggers a deluge of feelings in those who read it and were moved by it at the time.

Unsurprisingly, it was confirmed back in 2021 that Cat Person is at last getting a star-studded film adaptation. With a brand new trailer and exciting cast, here’s everything we know about the project so far.

What’s the plot of Cat Person?

As per Deadline, much like the original essay, Cat Person looks at the brief relationship between 20-year-old college sophomore Margot (CODA‘s Emilia Jones) and the somewhat-older Robert (Succession‘s Nicholas Braun) from the perspective of both characters, as a means of commenting on the experience of dating today. Hope Davis, Fred Melamed, Isabella Rossellini, Christopher Shyer and Liza Koshy round out the cast.

It has been described as a “psychological thriller,” so we imagine it will be leaning heavily into the short story’s more unsettling vibes throughout its runtime.

Cat Person is a razor-sharp exploration of the gender divide, the quagmire of navigating modern dating and the dangerous projections we make in our minds about the person at the other end of our phones,” reads another review.

Is there a trailer for Cat Person?

After world premiering to much buzz at Sundance back in January, the darkly comedic dating thriller now has a full-length trailer introducing us to the strained dynamic between Margot and Robert. 

“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them,” reads the Margaret Atwood quote serving as the film’s epigraph, summing up each character’s perspective on their shared dating experience.

Watch it for yourself below:

What are people saying about Cat Person?

The film, which will be directed by none other than Susanna Fogel (she of The Wilds and The Flight Attendant fame), tells Variety: “Using Kristen’s excruciatingly well-observed short story about the horrors of dating as the jumping off point for an actual genre film, Cat Person will explore the hellscape of modern romance and the idea that we have all been the villain in someone else’s story, and the victim in others.” 

In an appearance  at Deadline’s Sundance studio earlier this year, Fogel also noted that the idea of toggling back and forth between the POVs of her protagonists was compelling, in that it allowed her to explore “miscommunications and the cultural baggage that men and women bring into dating,” particularly in our post-#MeToo moment.

Colour us intrigued.

cat person

Credit: sundance institute

When will Cat Person hit cinemas?

Alongside the trailer announcement comes a release date: 6 October. However, it’s as yet unclear whether this date will remain the same for UK viewers. We’ll be sure to update you with more information nearer the time.

Watch this space.


Images: Getty

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