Images courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Ann doesn’t exactly know what she wants—but she is clear in communicating that she wants it.
As she reflects on her life, both at work and in her personal life as a submissive, she knows she’s not being satisfied. She just isn’t sure what will satisfy her.
Writer/director Joanna Arnow also stars in her quietly hilarious film, “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed.” Ann is a detached but textured oddity of a character who suffers from a serious case of millennial malaise.
The film is comprised of succinct, dryly comedic vignettes framing bits of Ann’s life, each one often only a few seconds long. At first, this is jarring, but as the film progresses, these little snippets become second nature and lend to the greater arc of the story. Arnow (and in a sense, Ann) uses these vignettes to narrow down what she wants in life, navigating through three pillars of her existence: her family, her job and her love life.
Ann’s relationship with her parents is painfully relatable, as none of them can agree with each other and all of them have very different views of their family unit. Her relationship with her workplace isn’t anything to write home about either. In her third year of work, she’s given a trophy congratulating her for working with the company for one year.
The third pillar of Ann’s existence—her love life—is a bit more complicated.
Ann is a submissive, and, over the course of the film, takes on many masters, or doms, none of whom have a level of enthusiasm she finds fit to match. For some, like Allen (Scott Cohen), she seems to be more invested than her master is. He even continues to forget personal details about her, after having been her master for almost a decade. For others, like Elliot (Parish Bradley), Ann is the one who seems to be phoning it in.
Ann’s fascinating journey aside, it needs to be said that Arnow’s vision for the film is well-crafted. This includes her own mastery of Ann’s stilted effect, as well as the tone the editing adds to the story and the stellar performances and frequently uncomfortable energy the cast brings to the table. Despite the quick edits and short scenes, the story has a somewhat glacial quality to it—almost a necessity so that audiences can have the time to sink into the discomfort of the narrative and Ann’s quiet determination to do something before the time has passed.
Does she succeed? I won’t give any spoilers, but there is hope for her in this slow-paced comedy. “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” will grace the screens at Midtown Cinema in May—this is one you’ll want to catch.
Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com.
May Events At Midtown Cinema
May the 4th Celebration
“Spaceballs” (1987)
May 3 at 9:30 p.m.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)
May 4 at 11 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival presents
“Madame Rose” (1977)
Sunday, May 5 at 10 a.m.
“Perfect Strangers” (2021)
Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m.
Music on the Patio
Every Thursday at 6 p.m.
Down in Front! comedy riffing presents
“Starcrash” (1978)
Friday, May 10 at 9:30ish
Saturday Morning Cartoons presents
“Minions” (2012)
Saturday, May 11 at 11 a.m.
“The Land Before Time” (1988)
Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m.
Trivia Night
Tuesday, May 14 at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 28 at 7 p.m.
3rd in the Burg Movie Night presents
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982)
Friday, May 17 at 9:30 p.m.
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