In the six years between her debut feature film Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which garnered praise and awards at Cannes and Sundance, and the much-anticipated follow-up, The Future, artist-filmmaker Miranda July has divided viewers and critics alike. Some find her whimsically flawed characters and her improbable situations delicate and truthful, while others roll their eyes at her alleged affectation and irritating preciousness. But preconceived notions aside, The Future manages to make an entertaining commentary on meaning in contemporary life, without overphilosophizing.
Tortured aspiring dancer Sophie (July) and freelance IT specialist Jason (Hamish Linklater) are an adorable couple (they both have the same haircut) who decide to adopt a cat, but when the cat has to be held at the animal shelter for 30 days, Sophie and Jason begin to have an existential crisis, believing their lives of freedom will effectively be over when the cat arrives. They quit their jobs to follow their dreams, but the plan quickly falls apart. Jason becomes a disgruntled environmental canvasser, and Sophie is paralyzed with artistic anxiety. Absurdity, hilarity and heart break ensue, eventually bringing their relationship to a crossroads. And through it all, we intermittently get vignettes from saccharine-voiced Paw-Paw, the cat who is waiting for them in a cage at the shelter.
Whereas Me and You depicts the coming-together of a couple, The Future depicts a drawing asunder. But as with its predecessor, The Future uses July’s distinctive vocabulary (awkward dialogue; precocious children as supporting characters; the moon talking in the voice of an old man) to create a story that’s light-hearted (even silly at times), intelligent and ultimately profound. July and Linklater put in sensitive performances as two hapless individuals who can make us laugh as well as remind us of ourselves, and Paw-Paw, despite being, well, a talking cat, delivers some of the most significant, unsettling monologues in the film.
The Future is worth a watch. Whatever you might think of the filmmaker, July is an earnest auteur with a compelling way of talking about life as we know it.