So, I need to stop watching these so-called "art" films. They inevitably make me hate them, no matter what the supposed subject materiel is.
This, I think is why I have a problem with them: They are uniformly marketed as something other than what they are. In the case of "The Future", the synopsis is this:
"When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves."
It's also billed as a scifi movie, and the synopsis seems to support that. It all sounds quite interesting, right?
Wrong! This movie doesn't deserve to wear the label scifi. There's no science in it and the only fiction is in the horribly bad marketing. So I should blame the distributors for how bad this movie is, I guess?
Wrong! The blame for this mess really needs to lie with Miranda July. I've never come across her work before and now, I guarantee I'll never do so again. Writer, Actor, Director. She's all those things in this movie and it shows.... Shows that some people should stick to one thing and not try to Doc Savage their life and be fantastic at everything, because, quite frankly, she isn't up to the jobs.
The writing is childish because the characters are intensely unlikeable. I suspect that may be the point - to make the audience hate them, but making unlikeable characters only accomplishes one thing in any form of storytelling - to alienate the audience. Once you've done that, it doesn't matter what the rest of the story is about, because the viewer just doesn't care.
Her acting is also weak. I understand this was her vision and by donning all these hats she got to make it how she wanted, but damn! As far as entertainment goes, this wasn't so much of a dropped ball as more of a ball punted into the distance off a cliff! It's pretentious nonsense full of "clever" symbolism, using the cat as a kind of conscience for the characters. However, the two characters could never exist in reality because of their inherent flaws. They would never succeed at anything, even surviving to adulthood would be beyond them! To call them ineffectual would be liking suggesting that a saucepan made out of chocolate would be fantastic! And, like that saucepan, the characters would not last long.
There's nothing here that fits the traditional role of a movie. I'm beginning to suspect that film isn't a proper medium for such efforts. Whether that will dissuade Ms. July from further stunningly boring efforts to make a point to an audience that mostly just wants to be entertained is anyone's guess. I doubt it.
It also galls me that scifi (my favourite genre) is being saddled by these movies since it allows the writer/director to apparently throw any crazy sh*t at the screen and hope it sticks. That isn't what scifi is about!
All in all, if you are looking for an entertaining movie, don't stop here! You'll be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you are looking to throw away ninety minutes of your existence in an unsatisfying endeavour, I would suggest going to the coast and commanding the rising tide to turn back would be more fruitful than watching this "film".
And now, in the interest of balanced reporting...
SUMMARY FOR ART LOVERS: A wonderful exploration of the neuroses of two desperately unhappy people, with commentary by their cat. Woot!
SUMMARY FOR NORMAL FILM-GOERS: Unsatisfying, pretentious drivel featuring hateful characters and leading to a frustrating and deeply annoying end. Trim your toe nails instead.
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