The latest film rendition of DC’s timeless hero, Batman, has captivated audiences since its release on March 4. One of the largest points of conversation around director Matt Reeves’s The Batman is about its seductive, youthful leads, Robert Pattinson, and Zoë Kravitz. Pattinson and Kravitz play “The Bat and The Cat,” formally known as Batman and Catwoman.
Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Batman.
Both Pattinson and Kravitz bring their own type of allure, mystery, and sex appeal to the table in their portrayals of these classic characters. Even before the film's release, audiences were riled up with excitement after discovering that Pattinson and Kravitz had been cast as the leads. The anticipation to see these two depicting such iconic characters was huge. But the true hype lay within getting to see a romance between Batman and Catwoman; because it would be seeing Pattinson and Kravitz get it on in their sleek leather hero costumes. Although the alleged romance scenes were memorable, it was only due to the sheer iconicity of the actors in the roles. The storyline romance of the characters themselves was unrequited, gratuitous, and forced.
The first time Batman and Catwoman meet, she is going by her real name, Selina Kyle. Batman approaches her because she is working for the Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Batman believes Kyle could have helpful information for him. He discovers that Kyle does in fact have access to the circle of people that Batman needed to infiltrate for information, so he pursues her for the advancement of his mission. Catwoman obliges to help, but only because she views it as a mutually beneficial collaboration. She can execute her own goal to find the truth about her dead friend at the same time she helps Batman. Batman shows very limited interest in Kyle’s motives outside his goal. They did just meet, so the lack of depth in interest can be understandable at this point, but unfortunately it sets the standard for how the rest of their relationship is going to play out.
This tone sinks in when the mission they’ve set up together goes down. Kyle is out getting drinks with the mobsters, pumping them for information. Batman is watching through specialized contact lenses Kyle wears. Kyle ends up finding out details that are crucial to her about the murder of her friend. When she goes after that information, Batman becomes very agitated and tries to push her to continue working towards his mission instead. He is so fueled by his own motives that he starts yelling at her to listen to him and continue working for him. People, let alone ones that are romantically interested in someone, shouldn’t yell when they aren’t listened to. It can be argued it is still early in their relationship, but their connection remains stagnant and detached.
The two don’t engage again until Catwoman gets Batman to meet her on a roof because she must speak to him. Batman comes in with a stale attitude once again, and his own priorities at the forefront of his thoughts. As Catwoman is trying to talk to him, Batman makes presumptuous and misogynistic comments toward her based on just a brief interaction she had with mob boss, Falcone (John Turturro), when he was watching her through the contact lenses. Catwoman makes herself vulnerable to Batman by telling him the truth, that she is Falcone’s daughter. She tells him this, so he can gain some real perspective on her side of the situation.
He did not make any efforts to be understanding or caring toward her before knowing this furtive detail and doesn't change noticeably after learning it, either. At this point, the only romantic aspect occurring is the sunset behind the two, glowing on the buildings of Gotham just past golden hour. The two physically move closer as the scene progresses. But their physical closeness should not be used to exemplify their romantic closeness, which is still nonexistent based on what has been shown of their interactions.
Catwoman takes the opportunity to shed some more light on how her and Batman may have more in common than just fighting crimes. They have both chosen this life after having endured strenuous childhoods, and they both fight to bring justice to those in need. This would have been a great opportunity for Batman to latch on to her sentiments and solidify their chemistry, but he once again brings no camaraderie or vulnerability to the table. He shows an inkling of emotion, at the most, after Catwoman’s lines, which due to his lack of response feel more like a monologue on her part. The sunset continues to become more beautiful and adds a layer of intimacy to the lines taking place that the two characters do not hold within their words alone.
The moment comes and Catwoman plants one on Batman. Instead of being a triumphant reunion, the grand moment falls flat. With the lukewarm spirit of their conversation, the big kiss moment feels illogical and out of nowhere. Catwoman is the one to lean into Batman, despite getting any cues from him that he is interested in being physical with her, other than standing very close together. Batman is supposed to be emotionally repressed in a stoic fashion, but his expressions nearly miss the mark of the bare minimum. His verbal expressions somehow do even less. Big, strong, hunky Batman does not even react to the kiss from the one and only exquisite Catwoman, and the whole things ends up feeling awkward and unfitting. It was comparable to when middle schoolers kiss for the first time.
Fast-forward to the end of the film. Catwoman is asking Batman to leave Gotham with her. Quite the request and gesture to someone who has given her no solid indications of his feelings for her. She says semi romantic things like “The Bat and The Cat has a nice ring to it” and is talking at him for a few moments. He doesn’t say a single word back to her, and she leaves. Batman appears to be following her after she leaves, potentially building up to him chasing after her in a typical romantic fashion, saying he wants to be happily ever after with her, but they just go separate ways, and the film ends.
Batman and Catwoman’s lives and motives seemed to be adjacent to each other throughout the course of the story. Their mutualism set them up for what appeared to be an inevitable meeting. It was a dystopian version of the classic “meet-cute” trope in rom-coms. If the creators or studio wanted romance to be part of the storyline, they should have expanded on the interactions that the two had in more genuine ways to establish a true connection. Batman’s aloofness and unexpressive nature, in turn, cause Catwoman’s character to fall short. Her lines and actions toward Batman reflect that of a character who is hopelessly in love. Or that her outlook is that fate brought them together, so they must be in love. It downplays her character and has her come off as slightly delusional to think there is an innate spark between her and someone who has given her nothing the whole time. The sliver of emotions he did express over the film's three hours, most certainly would not make one think that he felt love within him. This depiction of lovers is misleading and should not be a tool that films use to entice people into thinking there is a grand romance at hand in the story.
Time and time again, the media depicts very skewed ideals for romance and relationships. Unfortunately, The Batman fell into one of those representations by creating buzz around the scenes between Batman and Catwoman. When it came down to it, the connection was empty and unrequited. It was another example of a male character being brutally unemotional, and the woman throwing herself at him regardless, without anything in return. Batman enforces this case even more because his nature is, historically, emotionally guarded due to his childhood trauma. But this cannot be substituted by a groundless love story. It goes to show that romance does not have to be shoved into a movie’s plot, no matter how attractive the actors playing the characters are. In this case, it was bait that ended up muddling the character’s personalities and interfering with the storyline.