The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

What a surprise! The second film by very talented Joanna Arnow (she edited, wrote, directed, and starred in the film) is a symphony of ambient shame, with movements centred on the different men that Ann, the protagonist, has varied-length and ambivalent relationships with. She manages to hit a range of painful notes in these movements, from ritualised abjection of sensual humiliation to cutting corporate indignities.

Extremely original, astute, truthful, and humorous. I adored how the openly sexual material contrasted with the visual aesthetic; it gave me the impression of the female gaze in action. In over 50 years of watching movies and writing reviews it is time to say: I've never seen a movie like this and I truly enjoyed it. Check it out if you enjoy subtle character development and deadpan humour...

From the second the fil starts to the closing credits, you'll laugh so hard you'll have a hard time catching your breath. It's just non-stop action, one-liners, and zingers coming at you. DUCK! Here comes another one! Wow! What an amazing movie-going experience!

Okay, I lied. In reality, I had to qquit this dreadful film after about 30 minutes. It was going absolutely no where. I think a better title for the film would be: "The feeling that something is going to actually happen has passed." Yes, it's that boring. Naturaly Rotten Tomatoes gave it a high rating. Something like an 86. But that was the critic's rating. The viewer rating was in the mid 20s. Trust the viewer's rating on this one. It reminded me of a film by that Greek fella where absolutely nothing happens for hours on end.

If you need something to put you to seep, forget the Melanonin or the Z-Quil. Just put this movie on and you'll be fast asleep in no time flat!

This deadpan narrative from Joanna Arnow is a solid deadpan dramatic comedy about a detached character involved with a BDSM relationship and living the life with some interesting direction approaches, deadpan atmospheres, and a solid performance from Joanna herself.

The approach on how life is hard offered by Arnow's direction and approach is a bit strange but it's new level take does offer something special about the setting and concept. Including some dry humor dialogue, structure approaches and character conversations between the performances. Which is also provided by some solid performances from the cast members.

Because some of the writing and pacing is a bit too-slow, it causes the characters to feel distant to connect which at times, made them a bit frustrating to observe, in a not so good way. Nevertheless, I do look forward to see what Arnow could offer next.

Greetings again from the darkness. It's billed as a comedy, though for many, the funniest part may be in trying to remember the film's title. Deadpan reaches a new level in this debut feature film from actor-writer-director-producer-editor Joanna Arnow. It's tough to recall any film that more belongs to one person. Indie filmmaker Miranda July's work is the closest I can think of, yet in comparison, her work comes closer to mainstream Spielberg than it does to this one from Ms. Arnow. None of that is meant to be harsh, it's simply a challenge to describe this film to anyone who hasn't seen it ... or even to someone who has.

The film is divided into five chapters, each named for the key "other" characters (not named Ann). Arnow stars as Ann, and the opening scene finds her in bed next to the much older Allen (Scott Cohen). It's here we discover she's age 33 and has been Allen's submissive since age 24. In fact, two of the chapters are named "Allen", and Ann even suggests they were "destined to be together". She makes this proclamation after a couple of attempts to try a modern approach to dating, each creating complications for her. These ventures are presented as vignettes and include a musician, a sleepover with her sister, a role-play costumer, dating app (mis) matches, and a film buff with a love of pickled herring. To cap it off, these interactions provide a certain symmetry with Ann's soulless work at a generic corporation. Imagine being rewarded with a one-year acknowledgement after you've worked there more than three years. You are getting a sense of Ann's personality ... somewhat less than memorable.

Ann is slumpy and frumpy, and her deadpan delivery masks a sharp wit and a spark that rarely comes through to others. As she begins the foundation of a more traditional relationship with Chris (Babak Tafti, "Billions"), her path to self-discovery seems to open up ... although that path may or may not surprise you by this point. Some of the vignettes are shockingly brief, and many feature Ann in an exposed (literally) state of vulnerability. As the vignettes zip by, watching this isn't dissimilar to scrolling through a feed. Joanna Arnow's real life parents (David Arnow, Barbara Weiserbs) play her parents here, and serve up the only raised voices in the film as they sing an animated version of "Solidarity". And no, Ann's relationship with her parents is not much different than the rest of her life. At times, this 'comedy' feels like a beatdown, but leaves us with one key life lesson: pay attention the first time you ask, "What college did you go to?".

Opens April 26, 2024.

What do we learn about the character from this film that we didn't know before? Not sure, except to say that she's moving through life not sensing like she's finding what she wants or is looking for. I'm not sure I've seen a sex comedy that was exclusively about sexual need and lack of fulfillment.

Joanna Arnow writes, directs, and stars in this. She's also frequently naked. Considering the description above you should understand the nudity is likely not present for titillation but to show the character putting herself out there for partners who don't anywhere near as vulnerable. The movie is about her dissatisfaction with everything despite her best efforts to change some things.

In that sense, I think it will be relatable to many. The fact it's not flashy and the performances are entirely of the natural, or subtle deadpan variety means it won't appeal to many. I found it quite funny but it took me some time to get a handle on her style which is described as 'mosaic' although I would have described them as a series of sketches as opposed to a linear narrative. I look forward to seeing more from Arnow if she continues to make movies.