The Future (2011) starring Hamish Linklater, Miranda July, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres directed by Miranda July Movie Review

The Future (2011)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Hamish Linklater and Miranda July in The Future (2011)

On Paws

I've watched a fair few odd, quirky, offbeat movies in my time but "The Future" is up there with the most curious with a narration from a cat and a talking moon amongst many other curious outside the box things. But whilst I applaud movie makers which try to do things differently "The Future" didn't do it for me and almost had me reaching for the off button. The thing is that whilst this quirky tale of a couple and the 30 days before they are due to pick up a cat did nothing for me I am sure there are those who love the outside the box thinking and visuality of watching a woman dance and emerge from a t-shirt as if she was a butterfly breaking free from a cocoon.

After discovering an injured, stray cat and taking it to the vets, thirty-something couple Jason (Hamish Linklater) and Sophie (Miranda July) decide two adopt the moggy that they call Paw-Paw. With thirty days to wait before they pick the cat up they decide they should make the most of those last days of freedom but making the most of them by quitting their jobs leads to radical changes in their lives.

Paw-Paw in The Future (2011)

When "The Future" starts and we hear the almost creepy tones of Miranda July providing a narration from the point of view of Paw-Paw it is quirky and weird. And what follows is just as weird as we meet Jason and Sophie in their apartment where Jason says he can stop time. By this point it becomes very obvious that "The Future" is going to be offbeat, curious and you could say even experimental movie which is nothing like you will have seen before. And trust me if you are not into offbeat movies which border on performance art, switch off and use the time for other things.

So what actually happens during these 30 days for Jason and Sophie as this is the basis of the movie with the occasional narration from Paw-Paw. Well I shall tell you it starts with quitting their jobs and then Sophie deciding they should live without the internet at home for 30 days, but after that I will let you discover the offbeat-ness for yourself.

Now I didn't enjoy "The Future" because it is too out there for me but I think I understood it because it is all about Sophie and her fear of responsibility until she is forced to take responsibility which kicks her out of her meaningless funk. But because it is such an offbeat movie with Sophie and Jason in various quirky scenes the storyline doesn't drive it, you pick up on it towards then end but before that it all feels experimental. But even then once you have worked out that this is all about Sophie struggling with the fear of being grown up and responsible it still seems more interested in being performance art. To put it simply it doesn't tell a story, it throws a lot of offbeat ideas and scenes at you and then lets you try and work out what it's all about come the end.

In the end whilst both Hamish Linklater and Miranda July deliver the odd couple of Jason and Sophie the most entertaining it got was the offbeat narration from Paw-Paw and his paws. Yes it is weird just seeing a cats paws especially with one bandaged but it is the most memorable that "The Future" gets.

What this all boils down to is that "The Future" failed do it for me and it was just too offbeat for my liking. Having said that I still think I understood the movie even though it ended up more like a lot of performance art than a story and I suppose that is something.


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