Quiet and quirky, The Future seems to be an unashamedly indie film on just about the right side of being pretentious. Sophie (Miranda July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) are an odd couple who decide to adopt a stray cat, which is strangely anthropomorphised with July voicing the feline. They are told to collect the cat in one month, and on hearing it could live for another five years, their perspectives on life change, as they feel the years are slipping away from them.

July and Linklater’s softly stated performances reveal a couple that appears stagnant and almost used to each other. It is a comment on getting older; realising that you have not achieved anything whilst stuck in an unfulfilling job, as both characters are. The film is a pessimistic depiction of the mundane reality of everyday life. In the vein of Samuel Beckett’s plays, the film shows a circularity and almost ritualistic form of living. So, through the revelation that their lives are nearly over at the age of 35, the couple decides to make the most of the month that precedes the adoption, quitting their jobs and vowing to “seize the day”. But, in truly Beckettian style, they ultimately seem to fail as they drift slowly apart.

There is an emotional emptiness throughout the film, which reflects the overall message that wonders about the meaning of existence – if there even is one. July gives us a world devoid of inherent value, which can easily slip into monotony and heartbreak. It is only when their relationship is threatened that emotion is registered in Linklater’s face, which is fitting with the overall theme; too little too late.

What starts as kooky becomes peculiar and in the end slightly ridiculous, which is perhaps the film’s downfall. It places itself on the brink of becoming beautifully tragic, but is slightly too surreal to pull it off completely. However, the understated acting and awkward humour give a grim, yet telling, representation of 21st century living. Eerily lighthearted, the film will leave you contemplating an empty future, but in a good way.