No Future

By: MJ Asuncion

In 2019 about twenty million people in the US had a substance use disorder and about seventeen percent with a drug addiction had serious thoughts about suicide. Over seventy-thousand drug overdose deaths occur in the US annually and that number increases at an annual rate of about four percent. Addiction is a serious issue that affects not only the individual but anyone within their circle, like family and friends. Relationships often suffer, becoming strained and difficult, and frequently broken. The consequences can have a lasting effect long after the addiction itself.

In the film No Future we meet Will (Charlie Heaton), a recovering addict, at one of his support meetings. He is quiet and unsure, and it is evident that he is still struggling with his past. He talks to the group about wanting to move forward with his girlfriend by asking her to move in with him, but he is afraid that if she sees all of him, she will leave him. Shortly after we are introduced to Chris (Jefferson White), who unexpectedly shows up at Will’s place. Chris and Will used to be best friends, formerly in a band together. Chris misses those days when he felt he had purpose because now he feels as if there is no place in the world for him. It seems Chris wants to reconnect with Will and is looking at him with a semblance of hope. The interaction feels strained and ends with Will abruptly turning Chris away that night. The next day Will finds out that Chris had died from an overdose and his death is the catalyst for the events that happen the film.

Will reconnects with Chris’s grieving mother Claire (Catherine Keener) and together they try to cope with their loss. They find misplaced comfort in each other as they struggle with their individual guilt and grief. Heaton’s portrayal of Will is quiet and subdued, which gives us the sense of his character’s self-doubt and constant inner turmoil. He is fighting his own demons and tends to try to hide his pain, acting as if he is always in control and that nothing has changed. In contrast, Keener defiantly acknowledges her despair, but many times goes about it in an abrasive manner. Both Heaton and Keener give exceptional performances in their subtle delivery of emotional scenes filled with anguish, vulnerability, pain and regret.

No Future is directed by Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot (also the film’s writer). The movie is their second feature and was an Official Selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. Their first feature The Love Inside was accepted into the Austin Film Society’s Artist Intensive and premiered at the 2015 Dallas International Film Festival where it received a Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance and was acquired by Gravitas Ventures for distribution. The two also collaborated on the short +/-, which premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival.

Addiction is a difficult thing to witness, but it is a disease that everyone needs to be informed about. Films like No Future are important to give exposure, provide awareness and help keep the conversations ongoing. The film is dark, oftentimes moving at a slow and steady pace and can be quite depressing. Although, I found the way it was filmed appropriate for its very sensitive subject matter. No Future may not be for everyone, but overall it is painfully earnest with a message that is loud and clear.