Metacritic reviews

Wolff has made a debut feature as impressive in its deliberate modesty and unpretentiousness as it is in matters of psychological nuance and technical skill.

I still can’t believe this is Wolff’s first film as writer and director. He shows an excellent command of storytelling. There’s a lot of backstory and very little exposition (which can be a first-time filmmaker trap). His dialogue is natural and authentic to the age of its characters, and the way eventual conflicts between the friends play out feels unforced.

It’s worth noting that The Cat and the Moon is almost two hours long — Wolff could have easily cut it to 85 minutes and achieved the same tone and emotional peaks, but this movie is specifically meant to exemplify passion.

It’s easy to fault the egos of actors who want to write and direct themselves, but if they don’t make the most of the star attraction — their own performance strengths — what’s the point?

This indulgent, overlong film takes a solid hour for its bigger themes of love, loss and guilt to settle in. By then, however, the movie has tried our patience to the point that many may not care.