Murder of a Cat (2014)

A man investigates the murder of his cat.

Director:

Gillian Greene

Writers:

Christian Magalhaes, Robert Snow

Stars:

Fran Kranz, Aidan Andrews, Blythe Danner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fran Kranz	...	Clinton Moisey
Aidan Andrews	...	Trevor
Blythe Danner	...	Edie Moisey
Dileep Rao	...	Dr. Jag Mundhra
Greg Kinnear	...	Alistair Ford
J.K. Simmons	...	Sheriff Frank Hoyle
Lauren Sivan	...	Reporter
Leonardo Nam	...	Yi Kim
Nikki Reed	...	Greta Chiplinsky
Tahmus Rounds	...	Sports Salesman
Bonnie Hellman	...	Worried Bystander
Bart McCarthy	...	Arthur
Bruce Katzman	...	Foreman
Jesse Daniel Ruf	...	Warehouse Manager
David Willis	...	Jon

Storyline

When someone murders his beloved cat, Clinton (Kranz), an adult child, demands justice. Taking it upon himself to solve the case, he teams up with an unlikely ally, Greta (Reed), and the two set out to find the culprit lurking in their small suburban town. But as Clinton searches for the truth, he begins to uncover a conspiracy that goes far deeper than he anticipated.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | suspicion | digital camera | camera | investigation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

El asesinato de un gato

Filming Locations:

Montrose, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seine Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.

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Connections

References Citizen Kane (1941)

User Reviews

Wacky mystery/adventure with some substance

At the start of the movie, a man gets in a car and speeds away. Eventually he runs into a man standing in the street.

Clinton lives with his mother Edie, in the basement. He looks like Bronson Pinchot went to Howard Wolowitz's barber, though later he looks more grown-up, resembling Andy Samberg. He blames Ford's Megastore for the failure of his comic book store, and now he sells comic books and toys he made at a yard sale. A little boy isn't interested but wonders if the cat is for sale.

No, Mouser is Clinton's best friend. But he is depressed and behaving strangely. The vet says that's normal behavior for a 17-year-old cat.

One day Clinton finds Mouser in the street dead, with what appears to be an arrow sticking out of him. Technically, it's not an arrow, and it is sold only at Ford's. Clinton calls the cops, and Sheriff Hoyle doesn't take the case very seriously. He is attracted to Edie, though. And the press is quite interested in this "oddball". Clinton becomes a front-page story.

Sheriff Hoyle tells Clinton to let the real cops investigate. And when did anyone listen in any movie or TV series when told this?

Clinton sees a flyer for a lost cat. It's Mouser! When he goes to the address on the flyer, it's an assisted living facility. He finds the specific room, which has numerous photos of Mouser. But it turns out the resident who owns the cat is a beautiful young woman named Greta, with tattoos and dark hair with fire engine red streaks.

Clinton accuses Greta of murder Greta explains that the cat is hers and named Horatio, but he runs away a lot. Greta used to work at Ford's until she found out about some apparently illegal activities. Now she styles the old people's hair and gets a great deal on rent.

Clinton shows Greta proof that his cat was hers. Then he and Greta continue their investigation. With hilarious results. The investigation puts Clinton in danger, mainly because of the quirky Yi Kim. Who isn't quite what he seems.

This is a goofy mystery/adventure, but it isn't just funny. The drama adds something to it. We learn a lot about various characters, and the movie ends up having more substance than one would expect.

Fran Kranz, who is a man, makes an appealing loser.

J.K. Simmons delivers his usual great performance. His best line is in a scene where he denies working with Clinton.

Nikki Reed is also very good. The best example is her grief over the loss of her cat, which is quite genuine and not funny at all.

Leonardo Nam shows a lot more range to his character than just the stoned wacko we meet at the store. Is he crafty like Eddie Haskell, or is the guy at the store not the real Yi?

Greg Kinnear is very good as the celebrity store manager known for his outrageous commercials. But he is so much more than that.

Even Blythe Danner seems at home here. She has a reputation, but then so does J.K. Simmons, and both of them add so much to what could have been merely silly.

And the music is great. Most of it is some type of jazz, with the "film noir" style with muted trumpet the most common.

It's really worth seeing.