THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, Magnolia Pictures

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Review by Mark Dujsik | April 25, 2024

It's all about being stuck—in a job, in relationships, in certain types of behaviors, in particular ways of thinking. Ann, the central figure of The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, might have had some dreams and big plans for her life, but they're all but gone now. Replacing them is the reality of working a corporate job every day, seeing the same guy who seems primarily interested in controlling her at night, and sitting around her bare apartment whenever she's off work and the guy is too busy or disinterested.

In other words, writer/director/editor/star Joanna Arnow's movie is about patterns and repetition. It's also a comedy, because Arnow's Ann is so set in her ways that she fails at or even sabotages her active attempts to change them. If that sounds more tragic than funny, it probably is, but Arnow has a way with dry humor that keeps how depressing this material could be at a distance.

Instead, we just follow Ann's life over the course of who-know-how-long a time period, as she contends with a corporate merger, sticks with her pseudo-boyfriend Allen (Scott Cohen), and eventually decides that maybe some kind of change or two might be in order for her. Is it too late, as the title suggests, or is Ann just content to keep things the way they are, as the title suggests in a more cryptic way?

The biggest part of the episodic narrative has to do with Ann's romantic relationships or, at least, her notion of romance and intimacy. Allen takes up most of that. He's a well-to-do guy, although he argues he isn't exactly that well-off after alimony payments to his ex-wife, paying for his kid's schooling, and other financial responsibilities. They don't talk much about personal stuff, anyway, because Ann plays a subservient role to Allen's domineering side in the bedroom. She likes it that way, and in fact, it's kind of the only sexual relationship she knows.

The humor of these scenes is in the juxtaposition of what we assume about the couple and what truth of their connection actually is. The whole relationship looks as if it's just supposed to be fun for the two of them, as Allen orders her around and Ann follows his every command, as ridiculous as it may be (One scene has her running back and forth from a wall to him, and after the second time, it's tough to imagine this activity being much fun for either party).

After the fact, the two lie in bed, and Allen starts asking about Ann's life. She has to remind him which college she attended, and when we later learn that the couple has been up to this routine for almost a decade, there are two possibilities: Either Allen really is this cold and uninterested in a woman he has been regularly seeing for several years, or the whole thing is part of the act. Who's actually in control here? There are hints that Ann is the one telling Allen exactly what she wants him to do—how she desires him to command her. The mystery is amusing and tantalizing, because the answer could tell us one thing or another about who Ann really is.

It's also a bit frustrating, if only because the whole movie is more about its assorted gags and less about unlocking that mystery. The rest of the narrative focuses on Ann's work life, her relationship with her parents, and her efforts to expand her intimate relationships. All of those things point to a person who has no control over what she does. Is the bond with Allen just another part of it, or in arranging how one person will domineer her, is that relationship the one thing she can control? By the end, it's difficult to tell, and maybe the disappointment with the lack of a clear answer reflects how intriguing Ann is.

The other stuff, at least, is fairly amusing, too. Ann's work life has her debating a new job title, sitting in meeting where she's mildly scolded for not paying attention, having online calls with her new boss (played by Michael Cyril Creighton) about the merger, and somehow avoiding making her own job unnecessary, even though that's exactly what she was hired to do in the first place. Again, maybe Ann has more control than she or anyone else gives her credit.

Then, there's her uncomfortable relationship with her parents, played by Barbara Weiserbs and David Arnow (Knowing that they're the filmmakers' actual parents gives their scenes together an added level of awkwardness, which is a major point of the comedy). Her mother is domineering, in that passive-aggressive and guilt-trippy sort of way (The father's one act of useless rebellion here is genuinely funny), so is this where she learned it all? That's probably the case, and it's likely why her attempt to have a real romance with Chris (Babak Tafti) looks good in theory but is clearly missing something.

There's plenty to admire about The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, especially the way these comedic vignettes paint a portrait of Ann that's somehow as focused about how she behaves as it is messy about who she actually is. One could argue that Ann isn't too sure herself, but the movie could—maybe should—have a better idea.

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