Miranda July is perhaps one of the most multi-talented indie filmmakers on the planet. July has dabbled in film, performance art, music, and fiction. In an interview with Elizabeth Day of The Guardian, July admits that “the creative art of moving between media is [her] process” and argues that artists shouldn’t only have to be good at one thing. Her fear of being pigeonholed into filmmaking briefly came true after the release of her first successful 2005 film Me and You and Everyone We Know.

The movie follows the growing relationship of an offbeat performance artist and a quiet shoe salesman. In a discussion with Peter Knegt of Indie Wire, July explains that she wanted the work to express “how life felt for [her] when she was younger” and that she was almost like a “detective” determining how the characters in her life were connected. Roger Ebert called it a film that “creates fragile magic” and named it one of the best motion pictures of the decade. To avoid being typecast as only a filmmaker, July produced a book of short stories called We Think Alone soon after.

It’s clear that Miranda July doesn’t make films just to make films, there is always a significant cause or emotional message behind her projects. Before her success with Me and You and Everyone We Know, July established a project called Joanie4Jackie which used the concepts of the Riot Grrrl movement and combined the work of different female filmmakers. Many of July’s projects take on bigger responsibilities such as this but never fail to achieve a subtle but significant effect. Here is why Miranda July’s indie films contain a quiet power.

Miranda July Explores Personal Emotions

Miranda July in The Future
Roadside Attractions

Miranda July’s first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, was a study of the artist’s difficult feelings in her youth. A similar formula was used for her next movie, entitled The Future. This 2011 work follows the story of an estranged couple and their decision to take in an injured cat. The cat causes the pair to alter their views on life, themselves, and each other in a time-bending, mind-altering way.

The film stars Miranda July and Hamish Linklater of Netflix's Midnight Mass. In a conversation with Sheila Roberts of Collider, July admits that her first two films contain the theme of an artist wrestling with insecurities. July explains that she included all the “qualities [she] is uncomfortable with about [herself] into Sophie.” July says that what “[Sophie] does in the movie is like a ‘fear fantasy,’” a possible experience she herself might have.

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In the interview, the filmmaker says that as she was writing the film, she considered the role of time in the characters’ lives as well as her own. The premise for the film actually emerged in July’s performance art, and she decided to challenge the “conservative” form of filmmaking by turning the play into a movie. In the same Collider interview, July says that she originally envisioned the film as being “experimental and maybe somehow audience interactive” but felt free enough in the narrative to leave these elements out. Critic Richard Brody describes the film accurately, painting it as “the way that a do-it-yourself artist can, unawares, lock herself into a cage of her own making.” Miranda July’s films involve emotion and focus and do not require overcomplicated action to involve the audience.

Miranda July Puts Care Into Her Characters

Kajillionaire
Universal Pictures / Focus Features

Almost a decade later, July releases her third film, Kajillionaire, in 2020. The movie tells the story of a small crime family whose relationships are challenged when they accept a new member. The project stars Evan Rachel Wood (in an astounding transformation), Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins, and Gina Rodriguez as the new member. As with her first two films, Kajillionaire’s characters contain depth and feel well-developed, no matter how quirky or eccentric they may be. In an interview with Joe Deckelmeir of Screen Rant, July says that she is “a fiction writer also, so [she’s] used to carrying the full burden of creating a character” and that she asked herself how this person thinks and how it “informs the way she moves, talks, and lowers her eyes.”

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In Kajillionaire, protagonist Old Dolio begins to realize, with the introduction of the new member, that her parents are dysfunctional, borderline abusive, and in general treat her quite coldly. Huffpost says that the movie “asks how someone might come of age without parental affection or the conventions of capitalism," and Kajillionaire strangely but incisively probes the minds of characters on the fringes of society. It's humorous and vibrant, with some surreal scenes and a bright color palette, but it contains some quietly powerful and emotional moments thanks to the strength of these characters.

Miranda July's Next Steps

Miranda July's author photo for The First Bad Man
Scribner Publishing

Although July has always taken time between the releases of her films, she has gone a bit extra silent since the release of Kajillionaire. Part of this is undoubtedly a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and possibly from being a mother with her husband, the equally great filmmaker Mike Mills. In an interview with Print in 2021, July confirmed that she lives in a state of creative unrest and that her lack of satisfaction is a gift because she will just keep on creating, so hopefully another Miranda July masterpiece is around the corner. Kajillionaire is currently available for streaming on Crave.