Hamish Linklater

CHICAGO – One man’s delightful whimsy is another man’s annoying hipster facade. For every person who gets on the wavelength of a band like The Decemberists or Belle & Sebastian, there are others who find their music too self-aware and, well, hipster. The same is true with film. Even though I’m often a fan of music and fiction that could be deemed hipster — you know the kind, the Sundance whimsy that comes through the art house a few times a year — I found “The Future” grating in its lack of emotional truth. It all feels like artifice to me, which is especially problematic given the clear attempt at something deeper.

CHICAGO – The beauty of indie filmmaker Miranda July lies in her ability to create substance and mystery out of the most mundane everyday circumstances. Ms. July wrote, directed and stars in the symbolically rich new film “The Future,” and nurtures the concept of “the relationship” into another realm.