The Future

In writer-director Miranda July's extremely quirky sophomore follow-up to her droll Me and You and Everyone We Know, she and Hamish Linklater star as laidback couple Sophie and Jason, whose self-centered life is upset by their first real commitment—adopting an injured cat they call Paw-Paw (whose ruminations are also voiced by July). Realizing that they will face unaccustomed responsibility following the animal's month-long hospitalization, the pair chuck their jobs and live the next 30 days to the full. For Sophie that means committing to posting an interpretative dance every day on the web—although she fails to complete even one. And Jason becomes a volunteer for an organization dedicated to persuading people to buy trees, but proves to be an abject failure. Disaster strikes when Sophie falls almost accidentally into an affair. Unable to deal with her infidelity, Jason literally stops time until a conversation with the moon persuades him to restart it. Jason also meets a garrulous old man—possibly a future version of himself—who discourses on the difficulty of maintaining long-term relationships. The Future has a wryly understated tone that reflects the aimlessness of its misfit couple; but ultimately it comes across as much too ostentatiously whimsical. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by filmmaker and star Miranda July, a “making-of” featurette (17 min.), a deleted scene (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a too-precious film.] (F. Swietek)