Film Review: A Street Cat Named Bob

The feel-good film of the century has hit cinemas everywhere. James the busker and Bob the cat’s story began on the streets of London. The First time we got the chance to meet them was on YouTube. After two best-selling books, we now get to see the story unfold in front of eyes.

Homelessness has reached an all-time high in the UK, in particular in London. Because of this, drug use is becoming more prominent around the city. This is creating a negative stigma around buskers and big issue sellers that are seen as wastes of space. However, in recent years, an uplifting true story has come out of all of this misery, involving an adorable ginger tom.

When James Bowen comes home from busking one day, he finds an injured cat. He spends the last of his money on medicine for the animal. Due to the furry feline’s persistent personality, he soon becomes not only James’s pet, but also his best friend.

The book talks about James’s childhood, his parents, and how he ended up on the streets addicted to drugs. As per usual with film adaptations, some information had to be kept out of the story to keep it to a reasonable time frame. The story-line of him travelling to Australia and making up with his mother was kept out. However, his father played a significant part in the film, and they kept the relationship very similar to Bowen’s description in the book.  

In terms of fame, the casting isn’t what you’d typically class as impressive. The actors aren’t well known on a global scale. But, none-the-less, the acting is superb. Luke Treadaway made his debut in a feature-length movie as James Bowen. The trick to his role was keeping the audience’s attention, while spending the majority of the 103 minutes acting with a cat, whose way of communication was meowing and purring. The mesmerising relationship between the two, however, keeps your eyes and heart glued to the screen.

Treadaway also shows his impressive acting potential during the scenes in which Bowen is finally coming off methadone and getting clean for the first time in years. The torture that the character is clearly going through, matched with Bob refusing to leave his side not only makes you root for Bowen even more, but also melts your heart.

However, it has to be said that as amazing as Treadaway’s performance was, there was another actor in the film that at times completely stole the limelight. His name is Bob, and if he doesn’t get an Oscar, there’s something wrong with the world. He holds all the skills needed to make a great actor. Not only is he adorable, but he’s clever, he’s extremely emotionally intelligent, and at times he’s hilarious.

Joined by the likes of Ruta Gedmintas (The Tudors), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), and Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the cast helps to take you through every emotion. You can’t help but smile, then laugh, followed by crying – usually in the space of two minutes.

If there would be one negative to the movie, it would be that the love story – inspired by a close friendship James talks about, with Belle, in the book – wasn’t needed. The story is based around the relationship between a man and his cat. The love story felt a little forced and unnecessary. It also took away from the realism of the film at times. It sometimes seems like the film industry is under the illusion that they need a love story to help sell a film. They underestimate the power of animals.

However, the film is still an absolute must see this festive period. The movie manages to shed light on the poor treatment and lives of homeless people, but in a way that makes you feel uplifted rather than depressed. You’ll leave the cinema telling your parents how much you love them, looking at homelessness in a completely different light, and wanting to give your pet a huge cuddle.