Released: 4th September 2020 (Netflix)
Length: 134 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis
If Denis Villneuve is a master of sci-fi and Scorsese specialises in the crime genre, Charlie Kaufman is skilled at utilising the strange. His previous releases such as Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have all proven experimental in their approach. In partnership with Netflix, I’m Thinking of Ending Things continues his psychologically ambiguous run.
We follow a character played by Jessie Buckley, referred to in the credits as young woman as she goes with her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) to visit his parents. While initially the narrative seems like a straightforward family gathering, it doesn’t take long for things to grow surreal and unordinary. Through a series of awkward encounters and non-sensical tone shifts, both Jake and his girlfriend find themselves tunnelling through a greater discussion about what it means to live. What the film is trying to say about humanity is unclear and many will watch the film feeling confused. It flashes between several events; time is broken out of sequence and characters age back and forth as the movie goes on. Many key thematic elements are interjected into the storyline, particularly references to poetry, which forms much of the conversations between characters.
What rescued the film for me was its strong performances, which walk a fine line between serious and humorous. Strapped with so much dialogue throughout the piece, Buckley does a great job of delivering every line. She contemplates the higher meaning of her situation and the odd activities she’s caught up in. Instead it’s Jesse Plemons who delivers the film’s emotional punch. At first you’ll be wondering if Jake has some ulterior motives, but instead he travels through numerous stages of emotion. On the same level, both Toni Collette and David Thewlis find themselves juggling numerous emotions and they effortlessly swap from ditsy to grouchy throughout their section of the production. Despite the difficult nature of the material, all four actors do a solid job with the material. The performances hold, even if they don’t enhance the audience’s understanding of what the film is shooting for.
Much like The Lighthouse, I’m Thinking of Ending Things uses a 4:3 ratio and the narrow viewpoint mirrors the often-isolated settings. While the film mainly takes place on an unnamed road in the middle of a blizzard, we move between Jake’s home, a food stop and a quiet school patrolled by an older cleaner. With these locations interconnected, this gives way to seamless transitioning between its varying sequences. There’s a handful of clever tricks used to create the illusions in display, whether it’s Buckley walking down a never-ending staircase or the unexpected appearances of side characters. The music relies on a range of material from ambient background noise to more classical numbers; like the main plot, the changes in the soundtrack are highly unpredictable. Much like its story and characters, I’m Thinking of Ending Things relies heavily on its unique elements to build its technical presentation.
Charlie Kaufman’s latest effort is by far the strangest flick I’ve seen all year. It’s more existentialist than much of his filmography, aiming to get to the core of what makes us human with its surreal trappings. If you’re looking for something unique, I’m Thinking of Ending Things will certainly deliver, but many an audience will be left scratching their heads.
Rating: 3/5 Stars (Fair)
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