Director/actress Joanna Arnow bares all for BDSM millennial dramedy “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed.”
The filmmaker directs and stars in the feature that follows 30-something New Yorker Ann (Arnow) as she navigates casual BDSM relationships, a mindless corporate job, and her overbearing Jewish family. The trailer shows Arnow seeking purpose through ball gags and pig costumes as she dates a slew of neurotic men who have ever-increasing eccentric erotic desires.
“The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight program, and went on to screen at TIFF and NYFF. The feature is executive produced by “Red Rocket” auteur Sean Baker, and co-stars Scott Cohen, Babak Tafti, Alysia Reiner, Peter Vack, and Parish Bradley.
Arnow also edited “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed.” The feature is her follow-up to 2013’s “I hate myself :)” about a documentary filmmaker enduring a toxic relationship.
IndieWire Film Editor Ryan Lattanzio wrote that at first glance, Arnow’s unflinching performance while turning the camera back onto herself recalls, on the surface, Lena Dunham and Miranda July’s self-reflexive filmographies. However, “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” proves to be a quieter millennial statement against feeling anonymous or unseen, even in the most intimate of spaces.
“There is undoubtedly a level of autofiction going on here on Arnow’s part as she uses the mosaic structure of a series of BDSM encounters to interrogate the alienating aspects of millennial life,” IndieWire wrote. “(One of the film’s relatably hilarious moments that targets a very specific Gen Y angst comes when Ann goes on a family vacation, and her mom is stunned she has to work remotely throughout the trip.) It’s also clear that Arnow wants to present a picture of a woman in a BDSM relationship who has agency and ownership of the situation rather than as a passive participant. [With] ‘The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed’ … Arnow’s voice is distinctive, shrewd, and spiky enough to keep it afloat.”
“The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” premieres April 26 in theaters from Magnolia Pictures. Check out the trailer below and read the IndieWire review here.
