You won’t see a more uniquely original film than the deadpan comedy The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something Has Passed. When we meet the protagonist Ann (played by writer-director Joanna Arnow), she’s in a situation of literal dissatisfaction. Although she is particularly vulnerable in this moment, dissatisfaction seems to be the theme of her life.
Ann is smart and witty, but no one in her life SEES her. She’s so invisible to others, that her workmates award her a one year-anniversary prize, when she’s been there for three years. Her boyfriend is remarkably self-absorbed, selfish and distracted. Her parents are blissfully too far on the other side of the generational divide to relate supportively; (there’s a rollicking scene where they break into Solidarity Forever at a vacation cabin).
Ann decides to stop settling, drops her boyfriend and embarks on meeting new guys with a dating app. But her indignities, at work and on the dating trail, continue with deadpan hilarity. Will she reach a point of self-discovery?
I’ve been burying the gob smack lead, happily perverted as it is. Ann and the men she dates are into BDSM, and Ann is a submissive. When we see someone whom we think has low self esteem as sexually submissive, we may gasp at what looks like exploitation. But, we’re wrong about Ann’s self-esteem – she won’t let herself be victimized. She may be suffering the slings and arrows of life, but she is not going to see herself as a loser.
Arnow’s performance is remarkably brave and adept on several levels. Most obviously, Arnow spends much of the movie naked, and her body more resembles those of her audience members than those of most big screen leading ladies. She’s also frequently engaging in submission sex play, and all that “yes, Master” sounds silly to those not into BDSM.
The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something Has Passed is the first narrative feature that Arnow has written and directed. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
I understand that this is not a movie for everyone. Some will put off by the BDSM sex play and by a woman constantly in submissive positions. But, uniquely, this is a story told from tha woman’s perspective, and I think the payoff makes the film worth sticking through any discomfort.
The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something Has Passed is now tied for #27 on my list of Longest Movie Titles. Hopefully more significantly, it’s also on my Best Movies of 2024 – So Far.
This a droll masterpiece of transgressive originality. After a blink-and-you’ve-missed-it theatrical run earlier this year, The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something Has Passed is streaming on Amazon, AppleTV and Hulu.