The whimsical lilt of Miranda July‘s first film, “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” offered a curious blend: a self-absorbed rumination on existence, served up in oddly sized portions.
It was a little too cute for some. But I was impressed by July’s willingness to make viewers uncomfortable as she dug up little observations, and she’s also a unique performer.
Those qualities are stretched in her second film as director-writer-actor, “The Future,” which presents a less likable surface. It will surprise no one who saw “Me and You” that this movie is narrated by a cat (voice provided by July), whose sad situation triggers the events.
Jason (Hamish Linklater) and Sophie (July) are an average couple who are not particularly happy, although it’s a little hard to tell. They decide to adopt a sick cat, but the cat must spend a month in quarantine first.
This, Sophie and Jason realize, is the last “free” month of their lives. They’ll be responsible for a pet after this, so they need to somehow cut loose and fulfill themselves for the next 30 days.
This leads to a series of bizarre encounters and faulty decisions. Jason quits his job and becomes a door-to-door tree salesman, and Sophie decides to video herself dancing for YouTube.
She also calls up the phone number on the back of a sketch for no particular reason, and begins an affair with someone on the other end of the line. And this isn’t even getting into the film’s idea of stopping time, but that would be a little hard to explain, so you’ll have to take that as it comes.
Although the film conjures up comedic moments, there’s something serious and scathing about Miranda July’s view of the world. Sophie and Jason have an almost complete absence of hope about the future, and they lack even the ability to get the one thing right that sets the whole monthlong panic into action: Keeping track of the cat.
“The Future” goes beyond being skeptical; it’s practically morose. And the people onscreen aren’t very compelling; in “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” July had John Hawkes and Tracy Wright to supply personality, but here she’s the only actor with spark.
And that spark will determine much of your interest in the movie. Waifish and pale, July strews her comments in a small voice that seems to come from her nose, but she surprises you with some of the tougher truths that emerge. Although I didn’t finally like this film very much, I’m curious about what she does next.
“The Future” (2½ stars)
Miranda July’s follow-up to “Me and You and Everyone We Know” is a more pessimistic outing, about a couple in their mid-thirties who decide to fulfill their lives for the next month, after which they will take possession of a sick cat. The cat narrates, by the way: This is a film full of whimsy, though oddly joyless, and with a rather nondescript cast.
Rated: R for language, subject matter
Showing: Harvard Exit
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