I’m Thinking of Ending Things Review
It is a well-known fact that Netflix has become one of the major players in the movie industry in recent years. Despite being a streaming service and something quite new when compared to traditional cinema, Netflix’s movie output has been increasing in recent years and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing some truly brilliant movies, whether they were produced by Netflix or just distributed by them. The movie we are going to talk about today, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, is a movie that has been both produced and distributed by Netflix and is a true example of why Netflix can be considered a major player in modern cinema.
The movie is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Canadian writer Iain Reid. The screenplay was written by Charlie Kaufman, who also directed the movie. Charlie Kaufman is a well-known name in American indie cinema, known for his work on Being John Malkovich, the award-winning movie Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (on the latter three, he served as producer and writer), as well as Anomalisa, his first major directorial work before this movie.
Kaufman’s writing experience was clearly visible in this movie, as he managed to write a screenplay that was both confusing and compelling, which is, if you look at the overall structure of the movie, exactly how it had to be executed. The movie constantly plays with reality, using both time and space to create a very relativistic effect for the viewer, where everything seems both real and surreal.
A lot of this was achieved through various directorial techniques, with the make-up department also playing a huge role in the final aesthetics of this movie. Kaufman had a vision on how to make this movie, and that was quite obvious from the beginning, and in the end, we can say that he fully succeeded. All of the technical elements fit so well together – from the foggy atmosphere, via the surrealistically morphing actors, to the production design – and that is what gave I’m Thinking of Ending Things its mesmerizing charm, a charm that completely draws you in and “forces” you to watch it from start to finish.
As far as the actors are concerned, Kaufman did a great job with the casting. Although a typical secondary character, Jesse Plemons (Fargo, Black Mirror, Judas and the Black Messiah) was a perfect fit for the character of Jake. Plemons managed to put up a very convincing performance, showing different aspects and traits of his character. The role of the Young Woman, portrayed as Jake’s girlfriend, was brilliantly played by Jessie Buckley, an Irish actress, who replaced Brie Larson in the role; Larson was initially cast but dropped out before filming began. Buckley was, for a good while, portrayed as the protagonist of the movie and it seemed that she was the focus of the movie; Buckley’s performance was more than satisfactory and she managed to find her way around the beautiful chaos of the movie’s premise.
Jake’s parents, in different periods of their lives, were played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis, both excellent actors who have once again shown that they can portray practically any type of character. From younger to older, Collette and Thewlis gave us a brilliant insight into the dynamics of Jake’s family, from both a historical, present and future perspective. Yours truly is also very fond of David Thewlis, personally, so it was a true delight seeing him in the movie.
As for the movie itself, the biggest plus of I’m Thinking of Ending Things is that it is one of the most mesmerizing and captivating movies I’ve seen in recent years. It’s not easy to watch; you have to follow the narrative shifts, the temporal jumps and the sudden, ex machina metamorphoses that happen throughout the movie. The visuals also don’t really help you understand things and the overall conclusion that could be drawn, superficially at least, is that the movie is confusing. And it absolutely is, but it is exactly that confusion that makes it so wonderful.
The fact that you’re actually clueless as to what is reality and what is an illusion is a very strong element of this movie, which plays with your perception in the manner of films like Memento and Shutter Island, sans the complex murder mystery that is present in these movies. Still, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a psychological mystery in itself and even if we’re not talking about a bloody, violent mystery, the process of discovery is equally authentic and compelling.
This is mostly visible via the two protagonists of the movie and the Copernican turn one experiences while exploring the movie. Namely, as you begin watching it, the focus of the story is on the Young Woman, who is frustrated and dissatisfied with her relationship and is “thinking of ending things” as she drives with Jake to his parents’ house. For a while, the story does, indeed, seem to focus on the Young Woman struggling to cope with her frustrations in the midst of the bizarre household she entered. She does not want to be there, but in a way, she is obliged to do so simply because of social norms. She is, of course, not thereby force, but the premise is shown in such a way that escape seems impossible.
But, as the plot progresses, the Young Woman seems to be more at ease with her situation and as she gets acquainted with the morbid circumstances of the household, the focus shifts towards Jake, who is soon revealed to be the true protagonist of the movie. The rest of the movie is an exploration of Jake’s mind, a deeply tragic and melancholic psychological study that finally explains all the circumstances of the movie, from the past, hinted throughout the film, the present, and the idealistically imagined, but completely fictional future.
The Janitor is the final act of this movie and the character who, in turn, becomes an unlikely protagonist, with Jake’s role morphing once again. And with this, we are going to conclude our review, as any more details would actually spoil the watching and we wouldn’t want that.
To sum it up, Charlie Kaufman did an amazing job in adapting and directing Reid’s novel and he actually made a brilliant movie. The characters beautifully portray the tragedy of the film’s protagonists and give us a melancholic work that certainly stands out as one of the most intriguing films of the year.
SCORE: 9/10
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