The Official Synopsis Has Also Arrived
Ok, Miranda July‘s “The Future” heading to Sundance? We maybe should have waited a beat. Earlier today, an IonCinema report said, July’s new relationships-in-turmoil drama was heading to Utah, but upon reflection there’s no sourcing of that claim. We quickly emailed the writer who said, vaguely, “that’s not official.” Sigh, ok, whatever. We started our own digging and it turns out a hopeful speculation we made back in 2008 is correct: lauded composer/musician Jon Brion — known for his beloved “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,” “Punch Drunk Love,” and “I Heart Huckabees” scores — is writing the music to July’s latest.
The information is posted on the distributor’s website, and confirms that the cinematographer is Nikolai von Graevenitz and the film was shot in 35mm (Ed Lachman, a regular Todd Haynes lenser said he would be shooting the film back in 2008, but that obviously changed).
Here’s the official synopsis from the Match Factory site and it points out some of the odder elements of the film (which we’ll bold so you can see for youself).
Sophie and Jason are a thirty something couple who have hit a bit of a brick wall in their lives. They live by themselves in a one-bedroom apartment and spend a vast amount of time online. They make a decision to adopt a terminally ill cat named Paw Paw. Like a newborn baby, he’ll need around-the-clock care. Despite their good intentions, Sophie and Jason are terrified of the responsibility and the looming loss of freedom, so with just one month left, before they are due to collect the cat, they decide to quit their jobs to pursue their dreams. Sophie wants to make a dance, and Jason wants to throw his life open to the profound excitement of chance — on a whim he volunteers to be a door-to-door canvasser. As the month slips by, Sophie becomes increasingly immobilised, unable to make even the slightest progress with her dance, and in a moment of desperation, she begins an affair with someone she barely knows, Marshall – a tough, square, fifty-year old man she met briefly at the animal shelter. Using elements of magical realism – a talking cat who narrates his own sad tale, a living tee-shirt, and strangely familiar Moon – the film bravely creates its own particular universe. With pathos and humor, it invites us to share the bitter sweetness of this moment in the lives of this young couple.
In 2008, July was working on a screenplay which was based on her performance “Things We Don’t Understand and Definitely Are Not Going To Talk About.” This multi-media stage show incorporated live and taped video segments which included musical help from Jon Brion. So our hope back then was Brion would also score the film. While we’re not 100% sure that this stage performance is what evolved into “The Future,” clearly Brion has been on July’s radar for some time now.