I know I knew, right away, as the movie was happening, what was wrong about Miranda July’s THE FUTURE, but I needed a few days to marinate, to make sure, because it I am reluctant to say it, as someone who is, generally, a fan of her work. I think I am more a fan of the idea of her stuff, the ideas behind it, more and more, than the execution. Her success, as a young feminist, who comes from a similar world–creatively and actually–as I do, is meaningful to me. But, alas, The Future made the creeping obvious plain to me:
Miranda July is the weakest part of her own movie.
The movie, and the plot–the big ideas about our sad attachment to the internet, about getting older, about the weird pressure of normal life creeping in (babies, commitment, money, belief) as you age, the reality of romantic love sustained over time–all those things are done with wonderful subtlety. But in the movie, July, playing the antagonist is too precious, too quirky, too Miranda July awkward in the extreme that it draws her out and apart from the rest of the people in the movie, sets her in a strange relief against the other people who are acting normal. Like, their acting is normal. Not stilted. Their plots are fringed with magic and coincidence and it makes sense. It is hard to tell is she is outpaced by the other actors, or if she can only really do Miranda July, or if being the antagonist is too much kabuki for her. She was the part that kept me from immersing in the film. The guy that plays her boyfriend, and his part, are quiet perfect–her writing for him and his performance of a dude accidentally waking up to his life, and to the world around him and it’s possibilities–is really the highlight. The only parts of July’s performance I found to fit with the rest of the film is the revelation of how insecure she is, in her pursuing an affair with the divorcee dad. Flitting in discomfort and disconnect, just to be pursued and belong somewhere. While a lot of the reviews pose this relationship’s awakening between July and her boyfriend around the adoption of the cat-narrator (alternately cloying and effective), it really only comes unglued once they shut off the internet. That’s what exposes them as rudderless, envious, mistaken and their connection to each other as tenuous at best.
I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend it. There is merit in watching it. If you can handle July acting like she’s lost inside a Portlandia skit, you can hang with this movie.
I get the impression that your personal relationship with Miranda the Filmmaker might be getting in the way of a pure reaction to her work. What she meant to you, or sill means to you, coupled with your expectations and where you’re currently at in your personal life, appears to be a bad combination in the context of The Future. And thus I don’t think offering a heavy opinion in a public forum is a great idea. It’s not respectful to the artist … not unless you also critique yourself in the same breath and examine how you came to this opinion.
Do you really think that Miranda’s work is bad here? I’ve read her books and watched her movies and always paid close attention to her as long as I’ve known of her existence. I just don’t see her doing bad work. Lesser work, maybe, but always work that’s worth examining. And always unique work. But perfect work? Not even close. I worry that your high opinion led to unrealistic expectations.
It’s not that I think your opinion is bad or even harmful, I just feel that it doesn’t respect the artist in the way that Miranda deserves. I imagine The Future is a project she worked on for a long time – probably a very personal project. And so I think this is one of those instances where the work demands respect and deep consideration. Passing opinions are one thing, posted reviews in public places are another.
Just rambling.
I mean, I would say I am and have been perfectly reverent of her work (I wrote a cover story on her a few years ago, interviewed her twice, reviewed her books). I also understand what it’s like to work on something for years, “personal projects”–books, magazines, etc.–and have them critiqued. MJ’s previous film won at Cannes, it’s not like I am kicking a syphilitic dog to death here. Simply, her movie is good, her acting, is it’s weak part. Too bad, so sad.
THAT SAID:
Regardless of whether I am professional critic (I am) or some any-schmoe appreciator of movies (I am!), I needn’t a. EVALUATE MY SELF IN ORDER TO EXAMINE SOMEONE ELSES ART b. KEEP MY OPINION PRIVATE ON MY OWN MOVIE BLOG. Or why should I keep my opinion private but you get to have yours? It’s the internet, Greg Locke!
P.S. Did you write this same email to David Denby, about his review and expression of his “heavy opinion” on The Future in The New Yorker? Do you truly worry about me? I hope not. You really needn’t.
Oh, shit … this is the Internet? Oops. Wrong turn.
Internet smells more like chips than I imagined it would.
I have to say I agree with you. I went to one of the opening LA screenings and thought her Q&A was more interesting than the actual movie. Her ideas in the Q&A made sense, but I spent MANY a dog-walk trying to re-watch the movie in my head with the Q&A in mind. It just didn’t work. The movie, I mean. Movie didn’t work.