The Future 2011

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Elements of Miranda July's "The Future'' are so patently bizarre that you might expect the film to collapse under the weight of its own whimsy. This is the July that enchants some moviegoers and has others reaching for strong liquor. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: July, with her Chaplin eyes, perhaps knows too well how to play earnest and smart. But "The Future" feels progressively less adorned, even as it grows more magical. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: As she did in her striking 2005 debut, Me and You and Everyone We Know, July creates a fluid cinematic universe... Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: As much intriguing material as The Future serves up from scene to scene, it ends up feeling frustratingly slight. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: To appreciate "The Future," Miranda July's ingeniously constructed wonder cabinet of a movie, you may first have to pass through a stage of mild annoyance or even something more intense. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: The mood of this movie will brew with you for a while, even if it swirls around characters who aren't quite persuasive. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: July is working as hard as any artist alive to find new forms to express the dread of formlessness. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Provides plenty of material for July junkies as well as July detractors. Read more

AV Club: Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: The Future is full of amusing, lovely little moments that are just a degree removed from being too cute, whether July is being stalked by her favorite comfy shirt, or following a little girl's plan to sleep in a hole to its logical endpoint. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Not everything about "The Future" works. But most of it does, in a quietly powerful way. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This is worth seeing, but only if you think you can tolerate the precious voice-over narration from the couple's wounded cat, delivered by July in a high, scratchy voice. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The movie doesn't have much of a motor. But I like a lot of it, line to line, and I admire where we're left at the end. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The Future, July's coy and precious new film, is just oddball enough to be interesting, if not good. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Miranda July's second feature is beguiling, quietly funny and finally very sad in a way that sneaks up on you before becoming clear as the Los Angeles skies beneath which it's set. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: What a strange, trippy, touching movie The Future is. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Miranda July may be a bit too weird for her own good. On the other hand, it is a glorious weird. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: The film's gentle humor and imaginative digressions won me over, saying things that other works of fiction say all the time, but saying them in a creative way. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Overly precious poetic examination of a couple's eccentric attempts to evolve their lives will appeal to a rarified few. Read more

Miami Herald: Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: The notion that both this movie and "Battle: Los Angeles" could come out of the same place, in the same year, is a startling tribute to the city. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The whole film is so determinedly different it makes the sticky-sweet bits a little easier to bear. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Miranda July's rejection of traditional storytelling is valuable, but the common complaints that her work is mannered or twee are accurate. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: A T-shirt creeps around on its own, a little girl likes being buried neck-deep in the backyard. Whatevs. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: July likes her rhythms to shuffle, her beats to go long. She is the master of sideways portent - the small act with big ramifications. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: On the surface, this film is an enchanting meditation. At its core is the hard steel of individuality. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: At times - not all the time, just enough to notice - July gets it backward. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The actors are quite engaging, in their mopey way. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: July is a provocative and honorably independent filmmaker, but given the meager rewards of investing our time, "The Future" wasn't worth the wait. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: It can definitely grate on your nerves but, at best, it also gets into your mind, and sticks fast. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Not a crowd-pleaser by any measure, but a mature, bold and recklessly inquisitive film, however unpleasant it is to consume in the moment. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A talking cat and moon and a restless T-shirt distract from the story, creating what July intends as interesting textures but instead come across as a form of vandalism. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: At some point, we knew, this sui generis storyteller would return and grace us with another dose of her delightfully peculiar worldview. Now that The Future has become the present, July doesn't disappoint. Read more

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: This wonderfully whimsical examination into the fear of cosmic insignificance is so deeply touching and honest (think Ikiru starring Silver Lake hipsters) you just might need a stiff drink afterward. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Sophie's (or is it July's?) coy narcissism becomes a criticism of itself, and her "sadness" turns into something truly sad. In short, I have seen The Future and it's heartbreaking. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: With wit and unsettling strangeness, "The Future" takes a sitcom premise - two skittish 35-year-olds adopting a sick and injured cat in order to tiptoe into the responsibilities of adulthood - and gives it a radical, otherworldly twist. Read more