Jesse Plemons

Jessie Buckley

Toni Collette

David Thewlis

Guy Boyd

Hadley Robinson

Gus Birney

Abby Quinn

Colby Minifie

Anthony Grasso

Teddy Coluca

Jason Ralph

Oliver Platt

Frederick E. Wodlin

Ryan Steele

Unity Phelan

Norman Aaronson

Ashlyn Alessi

Monica Ayres

Julie Chateauvert

Ira Temchin

Albert Skowronski

Dannielle Rose

Brooke Elardo

Charlie Kaufman

Gregory Zuk

Mattie Siegal

Melissa Toth

Stella Bouzakis

Adam Bailey

Alexis Wiscomb

Simón Wilches

Iain Reid

Anthony Bregman

Peter Cron

Molly Hughes

Stefanie Azpiazu

Jeanne McCarthy

Rori Bergman

Adelina Atashi

Merissa Lombardo

Matt Levin

Gonzalo Cordoba

Robert Salerno

Jay Wadley

Robert Frazen

Yuan-Li Chiao

Samantha Wiener

Liz Flood

Bridget Fullan

Susie Bua

Kyle Casper

Rosa Tran

Sarah Hindsgaul

Navya La Shay

Anouck Sullivan

Diane Andazola

Eric Mancha

Mollie Ong

Kelly E. Marlow

Forrest Viola

Duke Johnson

Lizzie Davies

Raffaello Vignoli

Don H. Julien

Dawn Mountain

Amy Lynn

Vinita Bakhale

Matthew Crothamel

Kathleen Riley

Claire Kirk

Mike Reiersen

Peter Steffan

Jerry Stein

Leah Reingewirtz

Vico Sharabani

Anna Lomakina

Jillian Fisher

Robert Zemeckis

Lewis Goldstein

Susan Antonelli

Alex Lemke

Adham Helwani

Tom Ryan

Josh Acosta

Łukasz Żal

Mystery

Thriller

Horror

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Likely Story

Projective Testing Service

United States of America

Manuel São Bento

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @
https//www.msbreviews.com

Charlie Kaufman is undeniably one of the greatest writers of the 2000s. Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are some of his most notable works, but it’s Synecdoche, New York that’s considered by many as one of the best films of the respective decade. Therefore, I was obviously excited about his return to live-action movies (since 2008, he’s only made the animated feature, Anomalisa). I’m Thinking of Ending Things boasts an incredibly talented cast, capable of seating me down and make me watch any film they participate in, even though Jessie Buckley (Dolittle) is sort of a new face to me. My expectations were moderately high, so how did it go?

I’m not going to lie, I found this movie so intricate that I had a really hard time figuring it all out. As soon as it ended, I knew I didn’t understand it in full, which generated an unusual yet refreshing feeling inside me. I felt the need to not only think about the film all night but since I didn’t have the time to watch it again, I returned to a few specific scenes in the next morning. I also researched a bit and talked with a fellow critic to settle some of my mind’s internal debates. I write this to imply that this is not an easy movie to decipher, which will definitely throw some people off. It’s a film that requires all of the viewer’s attention and self-questioning capability. Otherwise, things will get complicated.

As usual, I’m not sharing any spoilers, so I’ll keep my opinion about the story’s multiple interpretations to the bare minimum. Of all the numerous ways of explaining this movie, I found two: either from Jessie Buckley’s character’s perspective or from Jesse Plemons’. I like both for different reasons. In terms of logic, which every viewer will struggle to find, Plemons’ character is the key to understand the remarkably complex, multi-layered narrative. Looking at the film from his perspective, everything makes much more sense. However, it’s surprisingly from Buckley’s view that I find the movie’s message to be more interesting and likely to resonate with most people.

Making an impactful move in life requires determination, courage, decisiveness. Moving to another country, switching jobs, ending a relationship… all can be extremely demanding and psychologically painful. I’m Thinking of Ending Things brilliantly demonstrates how one can delay these actions sometimes indefinitely. From the excruciatingly long car drives (almost an hour of the runtime is spent inside the car listening to the main characters debating apparently random philosophical themes) to the enigmatic transitions of time passing by, Kaufman’s screenplay keeps transmitting a message of how people are stationary and time just keeps flowing.

This film takes ambiguousness and metaphoric filmmaking to a whole other level. Not only everything the viewer is seeing has, in some shape or form, a philosophical meaning, but the dialogues between the main characters are themselves about cultural, intellectual, sophisticated matters. Some of these conversations have an eventual impact in the narrative or in the characters, some just feel like Kaufman needed to express his thoughts on several subjects. With a runtime of slightly over two hours, this movie overstays its welcome a bit due to the insistence in delivering repetitive, similar scenes with the same goal. 

The time shenanigans performed in the parents’ house is undoubtedly intriguing, but it’s more distracting than helpful story-wise. Having in mind the already puzzling narrative, the confusion associated with understanding how time works only creates even more doubts. It also deviates the viewer’s attention from the real focus, which didn’t help my first viewing. In fact, I was so concentrated trying to comprehend the purpose behind the old-young versions of the characters that I completely lost track of the runtime, ultimately thinking the film was near its ending when it still had forty minutes to go…

There’s a limit to how abstract and implicit a movie can be without becoming genuinely hard to understand, and Kaufman walks that threshold. Successful sometimes, not that much in other moments. Nevertheless, I can only share compliments from now on. Firstly, the cast. I’ve been in love with anything Toni Collette does since Hereditary, and once again, she’s weirdly captivating as an amusing yet disturbing mother. David Thewlis offers a subtler performance, as well as Jesse Plemons, even though the latter explodes with emotion in the third act. 

However, Jessie Buckley steals the spotlight in impeccable fashion. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I know very little of her as an actress, but I’ll make sure to add her to the list of “actresses to follow closely”. With one of the biggest emotional ranges seen this year, she delivers an incredibly captivating display, one that should guarantee her name in future contender’s list for the awards season. From citing entire poems to fiercely debating any topic thrown at her by Plemons, her commitment to the role is palpable. An astonishing performance that I will remember for a long time. However, it’s in the technical realm that this film achieves perfection.

Without the shadow of a doubt, this is the best movie of the year when it comes to the technical attributes (until the date of this review, obviously). Almost every filmmaking element carries a tremendous impact in either the narrative or its characters. The purposefully rough editing (Robert Frazen) adds to the perplexing atmosphere. The lighting plus the production (Molly Hughes) and set design (Mattie Siegal) help identify “where” a particular event is happening. The detailed costume design (Melissa Toth) and the impressive makeup are vital to the understanding of everything that occurs in the parents’ house. The distinct cinematography (Łukasz Żal) elevates every single action performed by the characters. It’s a technically flawless film, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it being nominated for several categories when the time comes.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things might be a Netflix original movie, but it screams A24 all the way. From the incredibly perplexing narrative told through bizarre storytelling to its distinctly unconventional technical characteristics, Charlie Kaufman offers a remarkably complex film that can take different interpretations (and may require more than one viewing). His insistence in transmitting one of the film’s messages through never-ending philosophical conversations and confusing time-bending distractions stretch the story to an unnecessary long runtime that hurts the overall piece. Nevertheless, all messages are successfully delivered through an intriguing, head-scratching, weirdly captivating story packed with cultural debates and unique characters. An absolutely outstanding Jessie Buckley elevates every single line of dialogue, showing tremendous emotional range, but the impressively talented cast also improves the multi-layered screenplay. Technically, it is and it will remain as one of the best movies of the year. Every technical aspect is close to perfection, and almost all have a massive impact on the story and how the viewer interprets it. It will undoubtedly create a gap between critics and audiences since it has all the ingredients that usually place these groups at opposite extremes. I can only recommend it to people who are able to dedicate their full attention to what they’re watching while being capable of self-questioning. It’s not your usual Netflix flick to pop during tedious home tasks to help pass the time, so make sure you know what you're getting into!

Rating: B

I'll be honest, I didn't fully have a clue what was happening for large portions. Yet, I still weirdly enjoyed watching <em>'I’m Thinking of Ending Things'</em>.

I think the main reasons for that are the two leads: Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons. They kept everything feeling fresh and intriguing to me, both have their moments in this. Toni Collette and David Thewlis also do very well. I like the cast, for sure.

As for the plot, it didn't do anything for me but it did keep me thinking which I appreciated. I, personally, would've preferred a shorter run time and clearer meaning - the latter is just me though, I'm sure others will adore the way the film is portrayed.

Some other reviewers have put it perfectly in terms of matching me: not nous enough to 'get it', but it still comes across as a good film. I'm fine with that, each to their own as always.

English

The Scene In i'm thinking of ending things That Makes Us Love Jesse Plemons Even More | Netflix

I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS - Q&A | Charlie Kaufman & Jesse Plemons | Film Independent

How Charlie Kaufman Adapted "i'm thinking of ending things" | Iain Reid & Charlie Kaufman

The score of i'm thinking of ending things | Netflix

Why Jake's Dad From i'm thinking of ending things Looks So Familiar | Netflix

Why The Girlfriend From i'm thinking of ending things Looks So Familiar | Netflix

Are You A Charlie Kaufman Expert? | i'm thinking of ending things | Netflix

Watch This Before You See i'm thinking of ending things | Netflix

Official Trailer