The Future (2011)

Miranda July is one of those people who makes art films, in the sense that her movies are made with extremely small budgets, this one reportedly only a million dollars, and about stereotypically artsy things like emotions and struggles. She also only seems to make a movie when she really has something to say. Her first was the excellent Me and You and Everyone We Know and here is her second, which is equally great. July stars alongside Hamish Linklater as a couple who have very suddenly come to realize the surprisingly fast passage of time. Deciding that they are too old to not have accomplished anything, they each begin a new life. He gets a job selling trees door to door and she begins an affair with a man she randomly calls one day, suggesting that if she scream really loud out the window, he may just be able to hear her. He can’t.

Yes, in a way, this is an art film about art people. You know, those people who sit on their couch completely still pretending that they can pause time. They may begin dancing mid-conversation, or disconnect the internet without a clear reason, or scream out the window. I don’t know why, but I felt more connected to these weird people, even though I recognized that they were rather weird, then I have with any other in movies recently. A good probable reason why is because there is a definite sense of reality to the proceedings, though told in a quirky way. Miranda July reportedly based some of her character on herself, although one could easily be convinced that the entire character is more or less her. The yellow t-shirt that Sophie in the movie is so attached to apparently exists in real life. Sophie really seems to have the sort of problems a modern woman might have. For example, she becomes briefly obsessed with creating a You Tube video that will compete with the more modern (slutty) dance videos created by her friends, which receive tens of thousands of views. Her attempts are not successful.

Sophie and Jason have decided to adopt a cat, an animal that speaks to us in a low, purring voice at intervals throughout the film, explaining its loneliness and excitement at getting new masters. I was intrigued by the inclusion of these scenes, which join another extended one as moments of sudden, unexplained fantasy. When Sophie tells Jason that she is leaving, he really does stop time, creating a literal separation between the couple, as Sophie continues her existence for weeks, while Jason sits on time as long as he can. The cat seems to be a symbol of their dying relationship, the bit of real responsibility that made the romance halt. Although, I couldn’t really call this a romantic film anyway. It’s more of a morality tale. July urges viewers to keep life spontaneous and worthwhile, and not to go looking for new happiness when you’ve already got it. I found The Future to be a wonderful, even invigorating beginning to the end of an otherwise drab year.

10/10