The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, September 12, 2011 - 9A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, September12, 2011 - 9A

'Future' looks bright
Miranda July's-

Jammin' with the jocks

latest an awkward,
earnest gem
By PHILIP CONKLIN
Daily Arts Writer
However "The Future" makes
you feel, it's clear that Miranda
July ("Me and You and Everyone
We Know"), the
film's writer,
director and
star, is in com- The Future
plete control.
Above every- At the
thing soars the Michigan
exactness of
July's vision, Roadside
and the film's Attractions
whimsical
tone, hovering
between funny, touching, awk-
ward and epic, is executed beauti-
fully. This is a film that completely
takes in its audience.
July and Hamish Linklater
(TV's "The New Adventures of
Old Christine") star as Sophie
and Jason, a 30-something couple
living in Los Angeles. Both work
unfulfilling jobs for which they're
overqualified (Sophie is a dance
instructor for toddlers and Jason
does tech support over the phone
from home), and they wile away
most of their time on Facebook or
YouTube.
The movie opens with a
scratchy, adorable narrator, which
turns out to be a stray cat, telling
the story of its rescue by Sophie
and Jason. The couple decides to
adopt Paw-Paw, as they've named
him, but first he must spend a
month at the vet.
In the intervening time, Jason
and Sophie, through a convolut-
ed kind of reasoning only bored,
underused minds are capable of,
conclude that this month is the
last they'll have to really live. The
two promptly quit their jobs and
get down to some serious re-eval-

By JULIA
SMITH-EPPSTEINER
DailyArts Writer
The "Go Blue" vocal tag cut the
intoxicated September air with
confidence, reminding us all of
what we already know Michigan
football is about: pride and get-
ting "OuttaYour Mind."
During our first night game
in Michigan history, we set the
NCAA single-game attendance
record with 114,804. Without
songs like "All of the Lights" to
accompany this, the mood drops
and camaraderie isn't felt to its
full extent. Rihanna and Kid Cudi
get us pumped about a number
of inappropriate things, but give
us an adrenaline rush for being
a part of something much bigger
than ourselves.
It's undeniable that Notre
Dame tested our fans' emotional
endurance throughout the night,
especially considering the major-
ity of the student section had
already gone through a day of
proving a different kind of endur-
ance.
This Saturday - more special
than most football Saturdays -
porches, ledges and sidewalks
were filled with booty poppin',
red cups and hands flexing to
the sky. There were some out-
liers like mariachi music and

Beyonc
ing thr
expect
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And so
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play m
mornin
lose ou
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"Don't
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oline"
the exy

e's "Goldmember" pound- easier for connections to manifest
ough speakers, but to-be- with our fellow Wolverines. At
ed songs like "Party Rock the ultimate anxious pause, when
m" were played incessantly. Notre Dame harnessed a three-
it goes that the music that point lead with 30 seconds left,
us up as beer sprays from the opening bars of" Seven Nation
p places, as compared to Army" made me feel like a hun-
nes on our iPods and the dredbucks.Theroarof "DunDun
that run the stadium, Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun" brought
sore to our regret-in-the- mebackto life, showingagleamof
ig side. LMFAO tells us to light to the mass of fans and hope-
r minds, and we generally fully to the players, too.
New Boyz inspires slightly "Everybody was just playing
ve notions with "Girl, you as a team, just doing what we're
tter with the lights off." doing to win for Michigan," quar-
after walking down terback Denard Robinson said.
r and making the aggres- "Coach (Hoke) said we have a
sh into the Big House, the whole bunch of football left and
keep playing until the end, and
that's what we did."
As I let those words register,
my grin from Saturday night
adium hits. resurfaces. The marching band
and dance team killed it with
their halftime techno rave perfor-
mance of "'Til the World Ends,"
here lifts its chin a little the parachute men achieved some
and a sort of transforma- dynamite overhead photographs
curs - we are supported of the first night game and suc-
collective energy of our cessful landings, and the entire
sity, connected and in the stadium got to linger in the glory
it, as happy as can be. of our muscular heroes and Jour-
Saturday, B.O.B accentuat- ney's "Don't Stop Believin'."
feeling of unified bliss with There were a legion of beats
Let Me Fall." Short clips of that serenaded our victorious ears
ike "Let's Go," "Sweet Car- last night, but there is only one
and "Lose Yourself" add to left ringing in my ears: It's great!
perience tenfold, making it To be! A Michigan Wolverine!_

"Stellaaaaa!"
uating.
This may sound like your run-
of-the-mill indie dramedy prem-
ise, but the film is much more than
that. "The Future" is cleverly and
precisely written, often laugh-
out-loud funny, and the rapport
of the two stars is pitch perfect.
They achieve a subdued but sub-
lime absent-minded earnestness
that's delightful to watch.
Jason, in his re-examining of
his life, vows to be more alert, to
take notice of the little things of
everydaylife. This is a maximthat
Sophie also follows and a princi-
ple that the movie itself operates
on. Under the film's deliberate
pace and its careful consideration
of the smallest details, every
object, every miniscule gesture,
transforms into a momentous
event. For these characters, the
course of their entire lives hangs
on the film's every moment.
The characters are in a fragile
state and the audience feels this
acutely because the film makes us
feel it: "The Future" continually
undergoes slight shifts in mood,
and always teeters precariously
between comedy and melancholy.
The film's ability to control the
audience's emotions is amazing -
and comforting, in a way. It feels
good to be in the hands of such a

talented filmmaker.
"The Future," despite its seem-
ingly tame premise, doesn't shy
away from dealing with larger
psychological and existential
issues. July takes serious risks -
a cat narrator, for one - but they
are executed precisely, and each
one pays off. The film even wan-
ders into some cosmic, mystical
territory (Jason converses with
the moon at one point), but it all
serves the narrative, and it's all
cleverly done.
Some bizarre things certainly
happen in "The Future," but how-
ever strange the film becomes, the
events are still very real for the
characters, whether we believe
what is happening or not. The film
is also remarkably honest about
its characters, and about life, with
some throw-off lines that offer
more insight than entire movies.
This is a profoundly truthful film.
Sometimes the film's pace
leads to some flat moments, and it
seems to try to deliver a message
that's maybe a little too broad.
But the film is beautifully shot
and smartly directed, and the
strength of the characters and the
performances always rise above
its few mistakes. All in all, "The
Future" is one of the best films of
the year so far.


CONTAGION
From Page 6A
and strife the virus leaves in its
wake. Even the calm and capable
Doctor Ellis Cheever (Laurence
Fishburne, "Predators") puts
his reputation on the line in a
moment of emotional turmoil.
The movie has no real heroes
because every character is vul-
nerable to the virus and subject
to the panic that follows.
This is not to say the best and
worst parts of people don't come
through. In fact, one of the more

interesting characters is one of
the worst - Alan Krumwiede
(Jude Law, "Repo Men"), a blog-
ger with horrible teeth and a
murky thirst for wealth and
power. His story is not only a
meditation on the power of the
media in times of uncertainty,
but it also gives the movie its only
politically charged aspect.
If it weren't for Krumwiede
and his blog, the movie would
have simply been a story about
the government racing against
time in order to protect the
American people. Krumwiede
brings in complications like the

pharmaceutical companies and
is the only character who exam-
ines the idea of profit, giving the
movie a dirtier but more realis-
tic edge.
Throughout the film, Soder-
bergh makes sure to leave room
for discussion similar to his
approach to "Traffic" and earlier
films. He does not editorialize
much and lets the issues present
themselves straightforwardly.
"Contagion" is a rational and
scientific in its examination of
the world and the troubles that
haunt it, but manages to preserve
its humanity and vulnerability.

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