Film Review: 'I’m Thinking of Ending Things' by Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman’s latest psychological thriller is an intense cinematic experience.
Source: Netflix Media Center
What would the internal realities of our lives – our emotions, memories, insecurities, and most private thoughts – look like if they were to become external? In his newest film “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”, Charlie Kaufman sets out to answer this question. The result is a mind-bending, anxiety-inducing cinematic experience like no other, daring in its intensity and slow in its delivery, simultaneously engaging and alienating.
Based on Iain Reid’s 2016 novel of the same name, the movie follows a young woman, Lucy (alias Louisa, Lucia, or Ames), on the way to visit her boyfriend Jake’s parents. Throughout their snowy drive, Lucy is “thinking of ending things” with Jake, regretting having mindlessly accepted to go forward with the events of the night. As they finally arrive at the isolated farmhouse which was Jake’s childhood home, the film becomes increasingly strange. What starts as an awkward dinner becomes a nightmarish sequence where the characters incessantly and unnervingly change in front of our eyes. The young woman’s name, as well as her occupation, her clothing, and many of the key details about her life, differ from conversation to conversation; the age, behaviour, and appearance of Jake’s parents fluctuate depending on where Lucy finds herself inside the house. This intense and bizarre parade of interactions is accompanied by long scenes of dialogue, as well as intercut with images of an old high school janitor far away from the movie’s primary locations. It’s definitely not your fault if you don’t know what’s going on.
This film is a terrifying descent into insanity wrapped up in the form of a fever dream, and watching it certainly feels like it. Such response originates from Charlie Kaufman’s commanding skills as a screenwriter, and it is carefully constructed through all of the film’s components. The set and costume design, paired with a haunting score, create an atmosphere of stylised unease throughout the entire film. The exceptional cinematography of Łukasz Żal (“Ida”, “Cold War”) is as claustrophobic as it is visually interesting - contrasting between long, often dull, sequences and disorienting, jarring images edited without preamble. The overall tone and pace make the film, like its plot, feel both timeless and outside of time itself. Shining through all of this aesthetic confusion, the acting is extraordinary, in particular the performances of Jessie Buckley (Lucy) and Toni Collette (Jake’s mother), who bring life and heart to roles that almost entirely depend on lengthy and wearisome dialogue.
It is not surprising critics have praised the film while also denouncing its complicated, unsolvable nature. Watching “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is a challenging experience, yet not necessarily a rewarding, or even enjoyable, one. The characters are so impossibly abstract and unstable that they are almost different people in every scene, and thus it is almost unfeasible to form an emotional connection with them. Most of the film is extremely dialogue-heavy, making it at times difficult to follow. The conversations Lucy and Jake take part of are plagued with so many allusions to specific works of literature, film, theatre, and art, that the average viewer will probably not be able to understand, much less enjoy, some of the film’s scenes. Additionally, with every object, place, and discussion onscreen being obscurely symbolic, this is not a film to which you can find an easy answer. “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” can oftentimes feel frustrating, self-indulgent, and pretentious, and yet it is very rooted in the human condition and the fragility of the mind. Nevertheless, the movie is a treat for those familiar with Kaufman’s work, as well as for people who crave intellectual explorations through films which require active watching.
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is a unique psychological thriller which employs not only the audience’s mind, but also that of the character’s, to perplex and distress. Although nothing particularly frightening jumps into frame, this is one of the scariest movies of the year. The film demonstrates how the real monsters hiding in our basements are our painful memories, our childhood trauma, the dreams we left unfulfilled. The movie acts as a window into a person’s psyche and thoughts, and it is simultaneously artificial and painfully sincere. The changes which gradually, and later forcefully, occur onscreen force the viewer to experience, instead of simply witness, feelings of confusion, loneliness, and anxiety alongside the characters. By the end of it, one is convinced that the true terror is the one which exists inside the human consciousness – whether that is ours or the director’s, I am still not sure. Indeed, uncertainty is a prevailing emotion in the film, and you will most likely experience it long after you have finished watching it. “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” will leave you baffled and unsure – unsure of what the film was all about, unsure whether you even liked it, unsure about your own sanity and existence.
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is now available to stream on Netflix.