The downbeat comedy Rats And Cats marks the feature debut of Tony Rogers who, along with stars/writers Jason Gann and Adam Zwar, created the much-loved Tropfest short Wilfred and the subsequent SBS series of the same name. The film focuses on Darren McWarren (Gann), a former actor whose precipitous fall from grace is chronicled by magazine profile writer Ben Baxter (Zwar) over a week in regional Victoria.
The film’s obvious interest in human minutia helps the film transcend its slight story arc, as Gann and Zwar’s wry voice elucidates each trivial detail of Darren’s now-seedy life. That same eye for specificity also provides the movie’s funniest moments as Ben, in narration, ticks off the actor’s accomplishments: teenage heartthrob on the sitcom And Another Thing; soapie superstar on Percy’s Point; 39 TV Week covers; hardened cop Sgt. Strange on the hit mini-series Strange Ways; controversial Father Roger in Father Roger – each of which rings pitiably true. As does Darren’s latter day career as frontman for the unsuccessful pub rock band Black Diamond, for which he writes po-faced spoken-word garbage.
Shot for next to nothing on location and in HD, the movie’s laconic, austere style refreshingly eschews the obvious mock-doc format in favour of a more traditional first person narration. Similarly, Darren is an atypical unsympathetic leading man, and one who is undone by mundane flaws and generic stupidity rather than cliched, cataclysmic hubris. Even better, the film boasts an enviably and uncommonly consistent tone, with supporting actors Anya Beyersdorf (as prostitute turned girlfriend, Cindy) and Paul Denny (as Darren’s brain-dead mate, Bruce) matching the high standard set by Gann and Zwar.
Filmink 4/5
