A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

I have to admit, this story passed me by. Up until the release of this movie, I had no knowledge of the story. So, without the expectancy of an avid fan, I watched the movie. At first it made me uncomfortable. Here was a guy, crushed by drug abuse and already looking like a train wreck. His zombie like world was gray and foreboding. His future was bleak and his lifestyle was demeaning. Even though he had some support from his case management lady, James just saw his life as misery and the drugs helped mask it. The intervention of the cat, later named Bob, could have been a fleeting one, but the two bonded through a need for each other. In reality, two lost souls. Without spoiling the basis of the movie, it is, basically a journey back to normality, one step at a time. The scenes involving the cat are pure eye candy. This is no ordinary cat by any means. He has an almost zen nature about him. He became the bridge James needed, to be seen by the public as a human being, rather than some faceless busker living on the street. I would not recommend this as film for young children to see. Even though the drug scenes are brief, they are dark and harrowing at times. The acting is flawless and the cinematography is well done. The cat point of view snippets are a nice touch. A wonderful mix of dark and light moments in the telling of the story. It will make any one smile by the end of it. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. Everyone needs a friend like Bob at sometime in their lives.

Fmovies: Enjoyed the film and thought it was faithful to the book which made me view street people differently. It never was going to be a big budget blockbuster type movie and the way it was filmed suited the story. Having seen quite a few buskers around Covent Garden the scenes shot there looked authentic. All the relevant topics were covered and the shooting was well done. I don't think it could have been done much differently without making the film overlong. Being a cat owner may make be biased but the film does justice to the story and internet interest shown in the two main characters. We left the cinema having felt that the admission money was well spent - not always the case with some over hyped productions.

A Street Cat Named Bob was a surprise for me.

I think Roger Spottiswoode's extensive directing experience and meticulous casting make this work by never relenting intensity. I don't think there could have been a better casted lead; Luke Treadaway is brilliant but more important, believable. His singing, real or sync'd, is just stellar and heartfelt. Joanne Froggatt also adds realism but Betty, Ruta Gedmintas, is probably a bit too good looking for the overall feel of the film but she's great nevertheless.

Sure, it's yet another down-on-their-luck story but, being closely based on true events, I found it gripping and real with dialogue that's cinematic but believable. There are moments in the film where my disbelief was certainly suspended.

If you are an animal person, the film may be even more rewarding.

A Street Cat Named Bob fmovies. This film offers almost exactly what you would expect it to and there's nothing wrong with that. We've seen better movies about the trials of homelessness, the tortures involved in getting clean from heroin, especially the latter when it's worth remembering this is a 12A certificate and so the horrors experienced by the main character can't be quite as lurid, nightmarish and unsettling as those depicted in TRAINSPOTTING.

Otherwise, this adaptation of James Bowen's autobiography, his account of how he was saved by the unlikely companionship of Bob, is pretty likable stuff. Luke Treadaway's performance is perfectly fine; his depiction of a drug user who's lost everything and is living rough comes across as credible enough. If there's a sense of fantasy about the effect Bob has on his fortunes - Londoners react to Bob as though they've never seen a cat before - then you just have to go with it to an extent. The film makes it clear that Bob personifies James's salvation, and it was a lovely detail to discover one of the feline actors playing the cat was none other than Bob himself.

Anthony Head doesn't need to do much to play James's estranged father, but he handles the emotional turmoil hidden beneath the character's austere exterior really well. Joanne Froggatt and THE STRAIN's Ruta Gedmintas are memorable as James's doctor and distant love interest respectively. The latter is a bit too obviously 'hippy chick' but she just about gets away with it, and I respected that the romantic undertones of her story line climaxed in a bittersweet, realistic way.

For me, this is up there with EDDIE THE EAGLE as a title that won't win any awards and will never slay the box office, but it made me feel better for having seen it. I'm looking forward to reading Bowen's book now. And I once knew a cat called Bob - a more affectionate and avuncular friend I don't think I've ever had.

Whilst I'm not usually drawn to writing reviews I'd just like to add that I thoroughly enjoyed this along with my young teenage children and partner, yes we all love cats which possibly helped but really, the acting was very good, the characters were believable and engaging, the story had our attention and whilst sadly the cinema wasn't exactly what you'd call full, those present loved it also. I've since read that the script lacked 'good grammar' and was too simplistic, whilst I may not have been Cambridge educated I thought that it was in keeping with the subject and none of our party felt it lacked anything, quite the opposite in fact. A movie which 'touched' us all and I'll be recommending this to friends and family. The best film since Eddie The eagle!!

This film connects you with the realities of street life and addiction, but without the excessive angst, despair and high melodrama which is typical of the genre. Because of this the storytelling feels very realistic, very honest. Obviously what distinguishes this story is Bob himself - I'm not a cat fanatic but it is obvious that Bob is a very unique personality. Yet in keeping with the low key feel of the film, they do not overly anthropomorphize Bob himself - he is a cat who has adopted a human, plain and simple.

This film deserves a wider distribution - it is unrated but I would suggest pg13. There is much more to this film that Bob the cat, but you should see the film and reach you own conclusions. If nothing else it may help you think differently, more sympathetically, about street people and street cats.