That night, Patience Phillips is unable to sleep due to the raucous party taking place in the next building. While leaning out the window to lodge a futile request for the partygoers to turn their music down, Patience notices a gray cat staring at her from the ground. In an instant, it is gone.

The next morning, Patience is painting a canvas inside her apartment when the same gray cat appears on her windowsill and meows repeatedly. Intrigued, Patience follows the cat out the window only to find it has scaled a high ledge out of her reach. Patience climbs onto a rickety air conditioner to try and reach the cat, but quickly finds herself in danger of falling to the street below.

A man driving by notices Patience and leaps out of his car, introducing himself as Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), a police officer. Patience tries to explain what she is doing, but the gray cat has disappeared once again. Suddenly, the air conditioner starts to collapse, and Tom races upstairs to grab Patience just before she falls.

Back inside, Patience spots the gray cat once again just before noticing that she is late for work and sprinting out the door. Tom remains to inspect Patience's wallet, which she has dropped in such a rush.

Even in her own home in the middle of the night, Patience can't stand up for herself, and continues getting walked on as her neighbors ignore her plea for a little peace and quiet. In fact, this party is shockingly boisterous by any standard and whoever lives there must have gotten some kind of permit from the city, suggesting that even the city has it out for Patience. It would seem she shouldn't have to wait long before a more assertive neighbor calls the police to break it up, but unfortunately everyone in the building is sitting around wearing earplugs, enjoying victimizing Patience more than they would a good night's sleep.

Yes, everyone seems to have it out for Patience; ultimately, however, she may be her own worst enemy, as she can't even get out of bed without falling on her sad little face. But these injuries are worth it, because here Patience is afforded her first glimpse of the feline photoshopped so artfully all over the opening credits. The computer-generated creature is gone when she looks again; the resulting look of confusion on Halle Berry's face may be real, as she ponders, "I thought there was room in the FX budget for another reverse shot."

Perhaps the most fascinating thing we learn about Patience in this clip is her blatant disregard for time management and personal hygiene, as the next day we find her painting abstract art in the EXACT same outfit she was wearing yesterday. Maybe this would be more acceptable had she slept in these clothes the night before rather than willfully changing back into them, but maybe not. What is not acceptable is the fact that she's goofing off at home when she has a deadline on which her job is contingent, and the president of the company already hates her personally.

Patience procrastinates further by rescuing a fake cat on a ledge; despite the fact that this woman is explicitly portrayed as someone lacking the courage to venture out on even a metaphorical ledge, Patience wastes no time hopping outside and standing on an air conditioner, something even this gray cat thinks is a terrible idea. Interestingly, the cat subtitles on the DVD read, "Meow meow, I can't believe you actually followed me, meow meow. No wonder everyone takes advantage of you, meow meow. Doormat."

Even Tom Lone can't be bothered to do anything but patronize her: "Sure, sure, Patience. [The gray cat]'s a real beauty." But he is redeemed both in Patience's eyes and the eyes of the six extras collected on the street below when the air conditioner starts to give, and Tom runs into the building, knows exactly where Patience's apartment is, kicks down her door, and rescues her in the nick of time. Thus, Patience is saved the indignity of her boss walking by, staring dismissively at her blood, and declaring that he wanted it darker. Additionally, the spectators down below have witnessed the sure highlight of their day, having slipped the gray cat $20 to mess with their pitiful neighbor.

-- Patience Phillips