For some reason this film just really rubbed me the wrong way. This is Miranda July’s new film, and it is very much in her style, but that style of cutesy whimsy just annoyed the hell out of me. I’m not sure if it was again due to scheduling, coming straight after the depressing police drama “Polisse”, but I just could not get into this film at all.
To begin with, the film is narrated by a cat(!), named Paw-Paw, in a ridiculous high pitched voice (that is actually an electronically altered Miranda July) talking about how it cannot wait until its new family picks her up from the vets and brings her to her new home. While it might seem cute on the page, it really annoyed me and I thought it was preposterous.
The new family in question is Sophie (Miranda July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater), a young couple of around three years, who after committing to adopt Paw-Paw, suddenly realize that by owning a pet, a responsibility goes along with it. They no longer have just themselves to look after. Knowing that they have a month before they pick up the cat, the two of them panic, and they decide to throw caution to the wind and see what the universe has in store for them. They both quit their jobs and decide to follow any sign that crosses their path, thus determining their future. Are they meant to be together? Will they end up getting the cat? Did I really care?
As I mentioned, “The Future” really grated on my nerves, but around the halfway point the film dispenses with its cutesy whimsy crap, and starts to deal with more immediate themes. It still dwells within the realms of magic-realism, but at least the second half seems to have a point, and that it is striving to say something. Whether it does is debatable, but either way, I just didn’t respond to this film at all. I seem to be in the minority here though, as I’ve noticed that “The Future” is getting some quite good reviews, but it just didn’t work for me, and from memory I was also not a huge fan of Miranda July’s debut film, “Me And You And Everyone We Know”, either (although ironically, I find her quite pleasant to watch on-screen).
2 Stars.
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