2021 Tribeca Film Festival Review:
No Future is the story of addiction as it navigates its way through the world of Will (Charlie Heaton), Claire (Catherine Keener), and their loved ones. However, while the plague of addiction has wreaked havoc on Will and Claire, they have managed to find something unique buried among the rubble. The two forge an unlikely bond and an affair ensues, altering the trajectory of their existence forever.
No Future starts off strong and immediately inserts viewers into a world of hurt and despair that may differ from their personal experiences but finds ways to mirror their realities in one way or another. The first ten minutes or so of No Future is captivating, gut-wrenching, and incredibly dramatic in the best ways. The hook that exists here at the start of Will and Claire’s journey is exceptional and as enthralling as anything I’d seen before, proving that writer-directors Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot have what it takes to entertain and develop something worth watching; but all of this excitement swiftly falls to the wayside.
While the film erupts out of the gate and quickly expresses that a series of drama would follow, No Future plateaus just as quickly, and the intensity that once resonated with viewers dissipates and eventually ceases to exist. Even as the final act of No Future begins to look promising again, the audience has lost interest to a significant degree, and it becomes very difficult to care about Will and Claire’s transgressions or struggles. That aspect of the film has passed, and the second and third acts fail to entertain like many believed they would. The story that had instantly promised to entertain and envelop viewers in a strange, shifting narrative of love and loss falls apart, and viewers are left needing more.
This connection that Will and Claire have is often uncomfortable and can cause viewers to dislike the two leads; however, in the same breath viewers are able to understand and appreciate the vulnerability present and, in more ways than one, commiserate with them. These feelings contrast but find a way to nestle themselves into the hearts of the audience. While these sentiments hang on for dear life, and do all that they can to claw their way back to the forefront of No Future, they fail. Even as viewers are able to relate to what is being said and done, Claire and Will’s story becomes intensely drab, flavorless, and lacking in terms of emotion, essentially stomping out all hopes that anyone may have had for No Future. There is something there for viewers to grab a hold of, but it’s been buried so deep in the murky waters of monotony that it becomes far too difficult to care.
There is so much promise present in the opening act of No Future, and the audience instantly knows that Irvine and Smoot’s film will be a success, but the reality of what ensues is crushing and far from what the audience had expected. Even with solid, applaud-worthy performances by Heaton, Keener, and some of the others, No Future can’t find its footing and fails to entertain like many had hoped. There’s promise living within Smoot and Irvine, but they do not deliver in No Future.
Written & Directed by Andrew Irvine & Mark Smoot.
Starring Catherine Keener, Charlie Heaton, Rosa Salazar, Jackie Earle Haley, Austin Amelio, Jefferson White, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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