Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutes
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Quick Impressions:
I read somewhere that the Netflix Original movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was out this week. It’s not. Did I get ahold of bad information? Did the release get postponed? Did the film release at a festival or in select theaters? Beats me. The point is, it’s not streaming on Netflix until December 18th. I was excited to see that movie because I heard Chadwick Boseman might get a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. But I guess I’ll have to let the excitement continue to build until Christmas break.
So at the eleventh hour, my husband and I made a mad scramble for a readily obtainable and (at least vaguely) relevant substitute. After a good ten minutes of fruitless attempts, we finally settled on our twenty-fourth choice, I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
I was slow to settle on this one. I had misgivings. As far as I can tell, it’s not generating any serious Oscar buzz (yet), and according to the blurb accompanying the thumbnail, it was a drama about either breaking up or suicide or both. The girl looked pointedly depressed. I’m not always up for films about depression, failing relationships, or suicidal ideation–unless they’re comedies or genre films. I finally decided this one would be okay because it’s written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. In the fall, I don’t need any extra bleak, despairing thoughts thrown all over me. I’m perfectly capable of generating plenty of those on my own, thanks! But I’m always game for existential and weird. I liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I love the last part of Adaptation (the part where everything goes completely off the rails). So we decided to give this a try and came away quite impressed with the film.
If you plan to watch I’m Thinking of Ending Things, then I recommend going into it exactly like we did, knowing absolutely nothing. Here’s what we knew. The film is written and directed by Charlie Kaufman and stars Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley. They’re driving through snow on their way to meet his parents, even though she tells us right from the jump, “I’m thinking of ending things.”
If I were you, I’d go in knowing nothing more than that.
The Good:
This is one of the most suspenseful, unsettling films I’ve ever seen that didn’t call itself a horror movie. In fact, horror movies usually disappoint me. For most of its runtime, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is downright scary, largely because it’s so disorienting and perplexing.
During the entire middle section of the film, I was practically sitting in my husband’s lap, actively unnerved, alternating between confusion and unease. The film would be less scary if it called itself a horror movie. Then we would probably scoff, “You call this a horror movie? This isn’t scary at all!” See, part of what makes it so scary is that you don’t know if it is a horror movie. It’s not categorized as one, but something oppressively dreadful seems bound to happen any second. Every five minutes, I would try to clarify, “Is this a horror movie?” Meanwhile, just as often, my husband would say, “I’m expecting a jump scare soon!” Maybe he just enjoys it when I squeeze his arm.
Seriously, the film maintains this uncomfortable, sustained suspense much longer than anything else I’ve seen in recent memory. I’m sure I’ve seen something scarier, but I’ll tell you, nothing comes to mind. It’s worth noting, though, that I am scared by strange things. Sometimes horror fails to scare me. But I found the Mal story arc in Inception deeply unsettling. (I think Marion Cotillard’s eyes play a role there.) Normally I avoid horror because it’s “too scary.” (Yes, I’m quoting myself.) But in recent years, I’ve risked quite a few horror movies, and they haven’t been as scary as I imagined they would be at all. Most of them were so tame that they disappointed me terribly.
At one point, I decided, “This didn’t call itself a horror movie, yet it still feels like one, even though nothing is happening. Maybe this is a film about the existential horror of life.”
And then Toni Collette shows up! I wanted to yell, “Aha! I know it’s a horror movie now! There’s Toni Collette!” (In fact, maybe I did yell it. In the bedroom, I do have a tendency to blurt things out.) Obviously, the mere presence of Toni Collette would not prove the film is a horror movie. She appears in films of all genres. But I’m Thinking of Ending Things does telegraph the same pervasive sense of dread as Hereditary. It has the same random bursts of sad comedy, too. (I thought I was very weird for finding elements of Hereditary so darkly amusing until I later read that others had that experience, too.) Particularly early on, the awkward exchanges between Jake and his girlfriend are funny simply because she is so morose and he is borderline pedantic. “Does this remind you of taking a car ride with me?” I joked to my husband. I think I’m all the kookiest parts of Jake and his girlfriend. (By the way, if you love identifying random poems, books, musicals, films, art works, and calling out their names or their identifying characteristics just before the people on screen do, then is this ever the film for you!)
At any rate, Toni Collette suddenly showing up somehow makes things even scarier than before. For me the most unsettling part was that I couldn’t be entirely sure that it was Toni Collette. I cried in shock, “That’s Toni Collette! Was she Toni Collette a minute ago? Why didn’t it seem like Toni Collette a minute ago? Did she turn into Toni Collette? Is it someone trying to seem like Toni Collette?” But then, of course, I wondered, “Why couldn’t Charlie Kaufman coax the real Toni Collette into appearing in his movie? I mean, he’s an Oscar winner, and this seems like a part she would play. So why would he get an imitation Toni Collette? And why would it only sometimes be Toni Collette? Clearly this must always be the real Toni Collette.”
It’s hard to explain why this bothered me so much. I think the thing is, the fact that I had to ask the question seemed so idiotic. And yet it took me a strangely long time to be 100 percent convinced of the (obvious) answer. Whether or not someone is Toni Collette should not logically be a frightening thing, but to me it was as unsettling as any of the rest of it. Then as soon as I settled the matter once and for all, I suddenly began to get the gnawing worry, “Wait a minute! The real question is, is that David Thewlis?! It is! (Isn’t it?) And it always has been! (Hasn’t it?)”
Knowing the full cast of the movie beforehand would have helped, obviously. But confusion over the supporting actors aside, I found the middle of the movie such a deliciously bewildering muddle. I kept thinking of the picture books my son was obsessed with this time last year, stuff like Where’s Waldo? and Spot the Difference. At one point I realized uncomfortably, “For every three details we’ve noticed, there must be thirty that we’ve missed!”
Finally, I started to figure out what was going on. Then I couldn’t stop figuring it out. I had at least ten active theories at every minute. Then I started to worry. The final act of the film made me so gravely concerned that I could hardly stand to watch. “If this movie just ends without providing a coherent explanation or answering any of my questions, I’m going to be furious,” I said to my husband. I wasn’t being paranoid. I’m Thinking of Ending Things seemed to be flirting with ending several times before the actual finish, and that it would leave almost everything unresolved seemed a distinct possibility (especially during one late scene that convinced me it was going to end like An American in Paris).
But now here’s a testimony to the overall strength of the film. As I watched its protracted final segment in agonized suspense, I thought, “Even if this ends up giving us no definitive answers, the worst I can say is that the final act is overlong. I still think it’s worth seeing for the intense unease and dread it builds and sustains for such an unbelievably long time.”
Fortunately, the film does give us a coherent ending that does answer our questions and explain everything. I mean, it explains enough. We have to pay attention and put some things together for ourselves. It doesn’t spoon feed you what is going on, but unless you’re not actually paying attention, you should get it. Once you’re sure of the ending, you can look back and notice heavy hinting and details that make much more sense now that the complete picture is in place. If you’re like me, random insights and connections will continue to jump out at you long after the film is over. It’s surprisingly coherent from start to finish, superbly crafted, and genuinely profound. It’s quite an achievement. But I would be surprised to see it end up as a Best Picture nominee. It seems a little out there for the Academy. I could believe it might get a nomination for Best Screenplay. Personally, I’d watch Jessie Buckley and Toni Collette, too. Both give excellent (and difficult) performances, and both have circled around Oscar nominations recently. Buckley is outstanding, but actually, Toni Collette gives my favorite performance in the film. (If she is the real Toni Collette!) (To be clear, I don’t think the movie is trying to hide the fact that it’s Toni Collette. It’s just that everything seems so disorienting and unlikely in that section of the movie. That Collette would win Best Supporting Actress for her turn in this film seems unlikeliest of all, but I’m going to put the idea out there, anyway.)
Perhaps the Oscar nomination the film most deserves is Best Director. I don’t see that honor coming its way. Still, sustaining that sensation of suspense and dread for such a long time with such unusual material cannot be easy!
Best Scene:
I love crazy dinner party scenes. I seem to include one inadvertently in every book I write. And this is one of the craziest dinner parties I’ve ever seen. The energy level of all the actors in this scene is absolutely off the charts. Jessie Buckley is extremely strong here.
Best Action Sequence:
Now, the last act of the movie is the part I like the least (although I’m thrilled to get the explanation). But the dance is well done. It reminds me of An American in Paris (and, of course, you think of another musical, too). This surprising interlude serves as a useful transition from everything we’ve seen so far to the resolution that comes next.
The “going into the basement” bit is great, too.
Best Scene Visually:
Pay attention. Everything is so bright and colorful, and there’s so much to take in. This is a movie you have to watch. (I mean, obviously, you should listen, too. I love those windshield wipers!) But you cannot properly experience this film if you’re looking down, doing something else as it plays.
I particularly love the moment when Jake and his girlfriend first pull up to the farmhouse, acknowledge that they’re there, then stretch their legs.
I also like the atmosphere in Jake’s childhood room. Thewlis shines in that scene.
Most Oscar Worthy Moment, Toni Collette:
I doubt that any actor will be nominated for this film, but I love the way Toni Collette plays the moment on the couch after dinner.
The Negatives:
This movie is very weird. (Now if you’re reading that and scoffing, “Weird!?? I’ve seen material a thousand times more challenging and outside the box,” please note that I am not talking to you.)
When I say it’s weird, it’s certainly not any weirder than Charlie Kaufman’s other films. But if you turn on Netflix expecting to find a formulaic drama about people struggling with depression as they try to work through a relationship–this is not that movie. Think of other movies by Kaufman. Being John Malkovich. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Adaptation. This is one of those movies.
I remember when my husband and I saw Spring Breakers in the theater. I said to him afterwards, “I actually really liked that, but if I went in blind expecting a ‘normal’ movie, I would be so angry right now.”
I loved this film (which is much stronger than Spring Breakers in my opinion, with a much clearer point, message, concept resolution given to you explicitly as you watch the film). But if I say, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things is wonderful! I recommend it without reservation to everyone,” I can guarantee, some people will watch it and exclaim, “What in the world is this nonsense??! She must be crazy!”
So that’s the biggest negative. This film is not for everyone. (That’s not much of a strike against it, obviously. But it will matter to you if you don’t enjoy this type of thing.)
Of course, even though there is a clear resolution that actually gives us answers, I still do think that the last act of the film is a bit too long. It’s not bad. It just feels slightly draggy to me, particularly toward the very end. Jesse Plemons is at his best in the final stretch of the film, though.
Overall:
To be perfectly honest, I did not want to watch this movie at all. I had mentally prepared myself to see an entirely different film. Getting into the movie took me a minute. I was actively resisting. I had not completely abandoned the option of turning it off and watching something else as long as the car ride endured. Early on, I kept wondering, “Why is she dressed in such colorful clothing, like a character in a picture book?” (But there is a reason for that, actually.)
Still, the movie hooked me fairly quickly. And once it got my attention, it went on to unsettle me deeply for a period of sustained eeriness that lasted over an hour. I’m telling you, it’s scarier than a horror movie. But it’s not unpleasant to watch. Some of the material is difficult, and the characters sometimes seem depressed. But the movie itself is cerebral, not depressing.
I think it’s an unusual, captivating, well-acted, carefully conceived, skillfully directed, highly crafted film that actually has something coherent, profound, and (from a certain point of view) beautiful to say. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an excellent film. It may not be for everyone, but my husband and I loved it.