Be My Cat: A Film for Anne 2015

Adrian, an aspiring Romanian actor and filmmaker, pursues a singular dream: to lure a major Hollywood star to Romania and have her headline his project, Be My Cat, a film he swears is inspired by the iconic Catwoman persona from The Dark Knight Rises. Fueled by obsession, he locates three local actresses to assemble the demo footage he believes will convince the world—and especially Anne Hathaway—that he has both the talent and the vision to bring this project to life. He lives in a modest house with his mother, Dorina Țofei, a detail that echoes the claustrophobic world he constructs around his art and his audacious plan.

The first actress, Sonia, meets Adrian at an abandoned house just down the street from his residence. He lays out the premise of Be My Cat, insisting that the film centers on a stalker who fixates on an actress. As filming begins, the line between the real Adrian and his on-screen persona begins to blur. He shoots a scene with Sonia that doubles as a grueling acting exercise, and the tension erupts when Sonia calls the police. Adrian withholds the truth, telling them it was a misunderstanding, and he persuades Sonia to try another night shoot. In a grim turn, during a scene where the stalker abducts the actress with chloroform, he uses real chloroform and renders Sonia unconscious. He drags her to his bedroom, undresses her, and clothes her in a catsuit, addressing the camera to declare to Anne Hathaway that this is merely acting and that he is worthy of her in every way. He passes the night beside the unconscious Sonia, who awakens frightened, and he then insists that she must be sacrificed for art, choking her to death and concealing the body in the basement.

On the way to meet the second actress, Adrian explains a troubled past marked by bullying, which has shaped his strange prejudices—disliking boys and dogs for their cruelty, while he claims an affinity for girls and cats for their sweetness and innocence. He also imposes a backstory in which the film’s protagonist turns the actress into a surrogate for a cat he once killed as a child. An incident involving a dead cat appears along the road, further colouring his warped logic.

When he meets the second actress, Flory, he discovers that the photographs she sent him are outdated. He berates her over concerns of age and weight, while Flory offers herself for the part in exchange for the chance to be in the movie. He refuses, though she remains determined. Later, they pick up the third actress, Alexandra, and Adrian asks Alexandra to wait upstairs as he settles Flory in the basement. In a horrifying moment, he uses a kitchen knife to remove fat from Flory’s body, hoping to make her thinner for the role. When two neighbors arrive after hearing screams, he placates them by claiming they are filming a horror movie. That night he returns with a catsuit intended for Flory, only to find her dead from blood loss. He feels a hollow sense of validation, believing he has fully entered his character and can now send Alexandra home.

Alexandra soon discovers Flory’s body, and Adrian faces a chilling moment of guilt as he weighs killing Alexandra as well. She attempts a brief escape, but ultimately tries to reason with him. He is oddly drawn to Alexandra, noting her resemblance to Anne Hathaway, and assures Anne that he truly loves her. Alexandra urges him to travel to Hollywood to declare his feelings in person. He hesitates at first—fearful of leaving his hometown—but the prospect of a future with Anne tempts him into agreement. He agrees to let Alexandra live on one condition: she must wait in the basement for thirty minutes, giving him time to escape and head for Hollywood. Alexandra wishes him luck, and in a moment of reckless triumph, Adrian, suddenly buoyed by the idea of a life with Anne, decides that he no longer needs to make the movie at all. He switches off the camera, embracing the notion that the film was simply a means to reach the woman who has consumed his thoughts, and he vanishes into the dream of Hollywood.