Directed by Andrew Irvine, Mark Smoot
Written by Mark Smoot
Starring Catherine Keener, Charlie Heaton, Rosa Salazar, Jackie Earle Haley
Runtime: 89 minutes

by Gary Kramer, Staff Writer

No Future, which is receiving its belated premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, (it was supposed to screen in 2020), opens at a support group meeting for addicts. Will (Charlie Heaton) shares his concerns that having met Becca (Rosa Salazar), he worries that if she moves in with him, she will see “all of him,” and be scared off. Will is in protective mode, having overcome his addiction, unlike his former bandmate, Chris (Jefferson White).

Chris shows up at Will’s place in the next scene and the two old friends talk about their various stages of recovery. Will is making progress. However, Chris, who has done a stretch of time, is feeling hopeless. And a few scenes later, Chris has died from an overdose. His mother, Claire (Catherine Keener), who was outside his bedroom door, is bereft.

No Future is a minimalist feature about the impact Chris’ death has on Will and Claire. But it fails to generate much emotion. When Claire asks Will to meet with her to give him some of Chris’ things, she really wants to understand her son’s death—was it an accident, or did he plan it?—and hopes Will knows something. And, of course, he does. However, directors Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot, (the latter penned the screenplay), dilute the power of this narrative because viewers know not only what transpired when Chris’ met with Will, but that he keeps this information from his friend’s grieving mother. While that strategy may add weight to Will’s burden of guilt, it also compounds the damage when he becomes sexually involved with Claire. (Their relationship, however inappropriate, is meant to be a way for both characters to cope with their respective guilt and pain.)

Of course, Will’s choices are sure to backfire on both him and Claire as each feels responsible for Chris’ death. There is also the possibility that Will may start using again. And Becca is surely going to discover Will’s affair at the most inopportune time. The filmmakers show their skill at making the drama contrived.

Moreover, the dialog is painfully didactic. Every character explains themselves fully, especially during “confrontation” scenes, as when Becca tells Will, “Those [support] meetings are your sanctuary. I shouldn’t make you feel guilty.” These moments are as heavy-handed as Claire’s working in a nursery, nurturing plants, a symbol of life and growth.

Had the film explored the codependent relationship between Will and Claire more artfully, No Future might have been compelling. But even as Claire observes, “We’ve both been through the same thing, caring for someone who was sick,”—referencing Will’s efforts to assist his dying mother—their connection fails to feel credible. Claire is obvious trying to recover her lost son, but Will’s motivations, or his deception, seems disingenuous. His bad behavior is meant to show how someone who was struggling, and has reached a good place in his life, slides backward. Alas, viewers will not be invested enough in Will to care, despite Heaton’s efforts to nail Will’s coiled body language as his situations gets more complicated.

In contrast, Catherine Keener throws herself into Claire’s despair, and best scene may be her encounter with two women talking about her in the nursery. She approaches them in a moment of defiance that shows her character’s moxie in a far better way than when Claire reluctantly meets with a therapist. As Will’s father, Jackie Earl Haley provides welcome support, even if his two scenes with Claire are particularly awkward.

No Future does feature some artfully composed shots, but this downbeat indie never does what it should, which is make viewers feel the characters’ pain. Instead, this drama is just painfully earnest and largely unsuccessful.