I really did not like filmmaker Miranda July’s first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know. It felt overly talky for talky’s sake, pretentious. This second attempt is a step forward to me. I feel slightly snobby saying that, in a way. I can clearly see July’s style, and she’s making the movies she wants to make, Frants be damned. Of course there is merit in somewhat experimental, over-literary films in which the characters all speak eloquently about what they want, with perfect analogies and symbolism. But her first film was all that kind of thing, and it just didn’t gel for me.
This one benefits from a smaller cast and more specific story. Sophie and Jason are about to adopt a sick cat, and realize that when that cat gets there, it’ll need constant care, forcing one of them to stay home. So, by their pessimistic math, the month ahead before they bring the cat home is their last month of freedom for the rest of the lives. So begins an interesting journey involving a talking feline (which I actually kinda dug), a walking shirt, a girl burying herself alive, and stopping time. The two characters still talk almost exclusively in poetic metaphors and observations that you wouldn’t be surprised to hear read aloud at a coffee shop in College Town, but because it’s just the two of them, dealing with a very specific problem, it’s more acceptable and accessible than her first film. This film feels like an odd combination of a toned-down David Lynch and Haruki Murakami. It didn’t completely click for me, but it was a somewhat enjoyable experiment.
