Words by Danny Mitchell
Zoë Kravitz’s take on the Catwoman in The Batman is as impressive as any other. And off-screen, she’s pretty damn cool, too.
Growing up with famous parents has its perks. Life’s much easier in a bigger house, conversing with your parents’ famous parents is the stuff of dreams – and we’d all like to jump queues every so often. And whilst all that sounds pretty sweet, it’s not all bliss in celebrity child land. The pressure’s on to impress, especially when – in Zoë’s case – ‘mom’ (Lisa Bonet) and dad (Lenny Kravitz) have amassed every accolade possible.
Zoë Kravitz’s dealt with it all pretty well, though. She’s a pretty cool cat, seemingly unaffected by the pressures that come with a famous name. Like, the woman’s just so damn cool, you know? First, there’s the unique fashion sense, a seamless ability to look both timeless and modern. Then, there’s the acting talent. Oh, and did we forget to mention that soothing, brilliant voice? All of that makes her pretty easygoing, riding out the perils of fame with a certain très élégant. And she’s got the whole humility thing nailed down, too. In an interview with The Guardian, Kravitz joked about her family life, stating that a big form of rebellion in her house would be choosing a career in law.
If anything, her familiarity with the limelight has made her well-prepared, especially for a role as legendary and well-known as the Catwoman. In Matt Reeves’ The Batman – one of, if not the biggest, studio films of the year – she’s herself, as at home on the big screen as she is on a talk show.
And whislt Bruce Wayne is obviously the main show, you’d be foolish to play down the importance of the Catwoman. It’s an iconic role, one which draws endless opinions from film critics and fans alike. She’s from being an accomplice, a sort of companion dressed in leather. She’s a cinema legend in her own right. Hell will bloody well freeze over before she plays second fiddle to anyone else – let alone a man (even if she’s kinda in love with him). Then, there’s the extreme love of cats, an odd but well-worked personality trait. All of this makes for a pretty complicated character, one easily misunderstood and mistaken as a comedic freak.
In a sense, it’s what Reeves does so well. In three hours (a bit long, if I’m being honest), he captured the true essence of the character. On how she prepared for the role, Kravitz was fairly candid: “I’m method dude, I hung out with cats a lot!” She also watched and studied several videos of big cats, going as far as drinking and walking like them. And whislt I’m not the biggest fans of cars – they’re as unpredictable as they come – I’ll happily admit Zoë Kravitz makes a pretty good Catwoman. Her pawfermance was purrfect (I’ll see myself out), the best of any actor that has taken on the role.
Her portrayal of the “tough, street-smart” character is near perfect: “here [Gotham] life has been really difficult, and she’s figured out a way to survive this far and take care of herself. And she really cares about other people”, she said of her on-screen character.
In Reeves’ Gotham, Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman makes a point: “women get pidgin-holed into one thing, if she’s tough and angry then she can’t be soft and you know, women, we’re so complicated and it was really beautiful to be encouraged to explore all those different parts of Selena”, she said, when asked how she wanted audiences to perceive her Catwoman.
If her Selina Kyle was to give advice to young women, it’d be to take up the spaces they deserve: “I found so powerful about Selina, and really tried to incorporate into the way that she speaks and the way that she moves, is her taking her time, and really not trying to be anything smaller than she is, or trying to round her edges for anybody else. She’s living life to the fullest and allowing herself to be all the things that she is. That’s something that I think young Zoë had because when we’re young, we’re not so jaded. And it’s something that this kind of reminded me of.”
And on the question of fair representation in the film industry, she’s fairly candid, too, describing it as an “awkward transition” period. It’s great that the conversation is happening, she said – that people are being made aware, but it can also feel at times like “checking boxes.”
There’s a cool mystique about Zoë Kravitz – it’s as if she’s both inviting you in and keeping you at arm’s length. If her performances to date are anything to go by, we’ll be desperate for more from this cool, cool cat.
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