The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed follows the daily indignities experienced by Ann, a 33-year-old Brooklynite played by Joanna Arnow, who’s also the film’s director, writer, and editor. A series of vignettes show Ann floating apathetically through her depressing, quotidian reality. Much of the movie concerns her relationship with Allen (Scott Cohen), a wealthy older man with whom she has a long-term but casual BDSM relationship. Allen is perhaps the least enthusiastic dom in human history, and he and Ann seem equally bored by their unconventional sexual encounters. Outside of her sex life, the protagonist has a few strained friendships, a pointless office job, and a complicated relationship with her wacky mom and dad (played by Arnow’s real parents). But when Ann eventually meets Chris (Babak Tafti), she finds herself in the company of a handsome and likable man who might finally offer her a meaningful relationship and is unbothered by her indifference.
Ann is mostly passive throughout the movie, but the supporting characters—namely Ann’s flawed-yet-charismatic parents and the almost-too-perfect Chris—offer some bright spots. It can be hard to root for a protagonist who seems so uninterested in her own life, but she perks up after the arrival of Chris, with whom she feels comfortable enough to sing show tunes and express her sexual desires. The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed would be much more compelling if it revealed more of Ann’s identity and emotions. Viewers will come away wishing she would just express herself.
