Written and Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, & David Thewlis
Rating: 7/10
I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the latest outing from famous (or infamous) creative Charlie Kaufman. If you are familiar with Kaufman’s work, this is quite possibly his most “true to form” film yet. If you’re not familiar with his work, prepare for profound sadness and befuddlement. Kaufman’s distinct and bleak visual style shines throughout this film. Only using a precious few locations works mostly in the film’s favor. Dimly lit farmhouses and car rides are where the majority of the film takes place, but the quality of the film is crisp and clean making the film feel distinct and meaningful even in its presentation.
The real meat of the film, as with most of Kaufman’s writing and directing work, is wrapped in heady, philosophical dialogue. The characters spend their time on screen speaking about themes and ideas that may or may not be even represented on screen. This style works both for and against the film for me. On one hand, the ideas explored do have inherent interesting things about them, things that offer introspective and deep thought experiments, and the film encourages the audience to take that journey along with it. On the other hand, characters sitting for prolonged periods and waxing philosophically does have an expiration point. Where that point lies though, is going to differ for each audience member.
The film is elevated by stirring performances from the two leads. The intriguing qualities of the characters are shared across the entire cast with each actor bringing their own special parts to the character making many interactions much more attention holding than they would otherwise be. The use of music is also noticeably well done throughout the entire film. And with that, we are brought to the ending of I’m Thinking of Ending Things. The finale of this film is certainly something special and unique. It holds certain twists that contextualize the film itself and could make or break the entire experience for some viewers. It’s a fittingly subjective end to such a profoundly subjective film viewing experience and whether I liked it not, it certainly remained in my mind long after the credits stopped rolling.
