The Future

Sophie and Jason, a couple in their 30s with unfulfilling jobs, decide to adopt a cat that is expected to die within six months. They see it as a chance to care for something tangible and to inject meaning into their stalled lives. The plan sets the stage for the upheavals that follow.

At the vet's office they are told the cat may live up to five more years with proper care. The cat cannot be taken home for another month because it is recovering from surgery. The news foreshadows a longer commitment than they had expected.

During the waiting month, Sophie and Jason decide to live as freely as possible. They realize they are signing up for a cat life that will last much longer than their initial plan. The period marks a turning point in their relationship.

Jason befriends an elderly man who has been with his wife for 62 years. The man warns that the early part of a long relationship can be difficult to navigate. Their friendship offers Jason a glimpse of lasting commitment.

Sophie, while Jason is out, calls the number on the back of the drawing and meets Marshall, the girl's father. She visits him at his home under the pretense of hiring him to design a sign for a dance performance. On a later visit she sleeps with him.

Sophie sleeps with Marshall, beginning an extramarital affair. The relationship grows as she spends more time with him and moves further from Jason. The tension between loyalty and desire grows before any confession is made.

Sophie tries to confess to Jason, but he freezes time to stop her from finishing. He then speaks to the moon about living forever in that moment to preserve their relationship. The moon replies that only his timeline is frozen and that the rest of the world moves on.

The next morning he envisions himself controlling the night tides with the moon overhead. The surreal image underscores his desire to master time and fate. When morning arrives, he is alone on the beach.

Sophie moves in with Marshall and returns to work as a secretary at the dance studio she had left. She encounters two friends who have become pregnant since last they met and envisions their children growing up and a child of her own. Her life feels stalled while others move forward.

Jason and Sophie learn that the cat they planned to adopt has been euthanized because they did not pick it up in time. The loss underscores how their attempts to seize control have failed to keep them connected. The revelation intensifies the sense that their life together may be ending.

Jason invites Sophie to spend a final night together. They face the consequences of their choices and the distance that has grown between them. The scene marks the emotional climax as they decide what remains for their relationship.