"The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed" -- Movie Review

 

This weekend, I attended the opening night of the new comedy “The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed”, written/directed and starring Joanna Arnow.

Synopsis

Will a woman who explores the BDSM lifestyle be able to find the “Mr. Right” or will she have to settle for “Mr. Right Now”?

Story

Ann (Arnow) is feeling somewhat stuck both personally and professionally.  Her job is at something of a dead-end and she’s currently working on a project that has the potential to make her own position obsolete once she’s finished.  In her love life (so to speak), she’s regularly seeing Allen (Scott Cohen), an older divorced man who objectifies her – which is perfectly fine with Ann.  She’s been exploring the BDSM lifestyle as a Submissive and greatly enjoys how good Allen is as a Dominant.  The only thing is that Allen just wants a casual friends-with-benefits situation with her whereas Ann is looking for an actual relationship.

It is with that in mind that Ann sets out to meet other men to see if she can find someone compatible with whom she can have a committed relationship.  All the while, her job is becoming more complicated than she anticipated.  Instead of being laid off, other people in her department are let go and Ann winds up getting a promotion she doesn’t want (mainly due to the new position title).  Additionally, she finds her older sister (Alysia Reiner) temporarily crashing at her place; when she wonders aloud why their parents haven’t pestered her for grandchildren, Ann’s sister posits that they’ve probably given up on her by now. 

She meets Scott, who tries his best to be her Dominant partner, but he’s just not into that – he’s not assertive and far too gentle with her.  Elliot, on the other hand, is quite experienced at topping women; he forces Ann to dress in crazy outfits and do outrageous things for his entertainment, but she just doesn’t feel a connection with him.  Finally, she meets Chris; he’s a normal guy and Ann has something of a connection with him, but she finds that while he’s good relationship material, she has to spend an awful lot of time training him to be her Dom.  After all of these experiences, will Ann be successful in finding a Dominant man with whom she can have something other than a casual relationship?

Review

If “The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed” is any indication of how her future work will be, then Joanna Arnow is off to a brilliant start in her career.  This is Arnow’s first feature and it is funny, intelligent and clever.  As the writer-director-star, she may turn out to be this generation’s Woody Allen.  In her turn as an actress, she is reminiscent of not only Allen but also of Buster Keaton in the stone-faced delivery of comic lines.  We can all look forward to what her next work will be; she is worth keeping an eye on as Arnow is clearly a star on the rise – it’s best to catch her now and watch her progression over the years. 

One of the things that’s important to point out about Arnow is her courage.  It takes quite a bit of bravery to write, direct and star in such a deeply personal story and she does so quite effectively.  In the BDSM World, there is frequently talk about “power exchange”.  This typically means the Submissive relinquishing power to the Dominant.  But is that really true?  That’s a question Arnow explores in her movie.  Here, Ann – a Sub – requires her partners to be Dominant.  So who’s really serving whom here?  It’s certainly something worth discussing after a view with the partner of your choice. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with the talented Julia Arnow and some of the cast.  Among her goals with this movie was to show a non-judgmental view of the BDSM world.  She chose to tell the story in vignettes because she wanted to show the character’s journey from Point A to Point B by the end of the film.  Arnow wanted to explore the kinkier side of casual dating versus a real relationship.  Parish Bradley (Elliot) said that he tried to find something similar to himself in his character, but it was a bit of a challenge.  Scott Cohen (Allen) said that the last scene in the film went on shooting forever, which he found awkward and uncomfortable.