The Future

Miranda July is one of the only modern film-makers, like Gus Van Sant and Sam Mendes, who can capture life so effortlessly calmly. In her ebullient debut, Me And You And Everyone We Know, she cast herself in a  poetic spider of human relationships with a terrific cast of mainly unknowns. Here, in what may be superior to her last film, she verges even deeper into the abyss, heading to unseen territory, with bold plot points, a very strange premise and a cast of, again, unknowns. July and Hamish Linklater star as Sophie and Jason, a couple who are unfulfilled in both their jobs and well-being. They are both too old (in their view) for kids, and seem to be plunging deep into their own existential crisis's. However, a stray cat seems to be their only lifeline left. They are told they have 30 days until 'Paw Paw' arrives. It will need constant care, that as much of a child, it seeming to fill the child void. They work out that because the cat will only last 5 years, they will be in a personal dead end by the time the cat dies, when they will be 40. "40 is basically 50" Jason quotes during the film. Deciding to leave their dull jobs and living their remaining 30 days to the fullest, Jason joins a door-to-door tree selling cooperation and Sophie aims to do "30 Days, 30 Dances". However, what they hoped would revive their dull lives plunges them, particularly Sophie, into a further state of ennui. Sophie, on failing to complete her dances starts a torrid affair with a man named Marshall, while Jason makes a friendship with a man who sold them a hairdryrer. I do not wish to spoil it for you but things get weirder with beautiful soliloquies from Paw Paw, voiced by July hilariously. The Future was one of the best films of 2011.
***** 5 stars