i'm thinking of ending things review
I’m Thinking of Ending Things begins with a warning that people tend to stay in relationships past their expiration date. Our protagonist compares it to physics - an object in motion will stay in motion unless a force (in this case, having the energy and wherewithal to go through a breakup) acts on it. This opening made me want to like and enjoy this film. I didn’t. I’m not down on experimental cinema. Quite the opposite. Film-making is an art form and art has no limits. Seeing an artist try something unique is one of the reasons we consume art. But in whatever this film was trying to do, it largely fails. The first act is promising with some interesting creative decisions at play. Our main characters, played by Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, are capably acted and likable. The direction has a palpable intensity and Writer/Director/Producer Charlie Kaufman acquits himself as an auteur to be respected. That said, the movie as a whole simply doesn’t work. The marketing campaign (at least the stuff I saw going in) presents it as a horror/thriller and it is neither scary nor thrilling. I appreciate that the movie tries to tell a deeply intimate story about the human condition. That isn’t enough to keep me interested/awake. I am sure those that fully understand what Kaufman was going for will say the few narrative threads of the simple story are paid off in the final act. I won’t argue. But I was bored and thus I cannot fully recommend the film.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things gets a rating of 5/10 for general audiences and a 6.5/10 for fans of indulgent, experimental cinema.