The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

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.

The worst movie I've seen in years! There wasn't a single character I cared about at all. The script is almost non-existent. There are many, many, minutes of silence with no real activity on screen. Everyone in this movie seemed like they were ill, half asleep or just had totally boring. Nobody & nothing made any actual sense.

Not sure what equipment they used to make this movie but I've seen better video quality taken with a cellphone. And there was often obnoxious background noise. Not natural but maybe camera noise? Terrible.

The BDSM was more about strange relationships than actual BDSM. I know enough that It's usually not the submissive that tells the Master what they want. It was more just the main character wanting someone to be assertive in sex. The sex scenes here are not even softcore BTW.

Then there's the dialogue. An example is the Mother says: It's getting dark and it's 7:30. Ann says: Yes, I know. Mother: Tomorrow it will be 7:29. That's an entire scene. Hopefully no one was paid for writing this.

Nothing was funny. Nothing was dramatic. Nothing was exciting. Nothing was interesting. Movies like this one is why IMDB should allow Zero stars out of ten. One is too generous.

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.

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.

I found this movie to be very interesting and relatable. The BDSM, which there was alot of and alot of nudity, felt and seemed real and understandable. This movie showed us how she could not fully function in a 'normal' relationship and ended back up with the really bad guy for her who was rich and liked her but gave her absolutely nothing. I kept wishing for her not to self-sabotage this new relationship that was absolutely perfect without all the Hollywood fake perfection, but in the end, she still could not live without the BDSM. Do women like being submissive? Do they just want it all? We also see her try to put her foot down at work what with all the reshuffling and a tiny relationship with a coworker, but she also does not pursue it as much as she should have. The movie shows us a pretty sad story, but isn't all life a bit sad?