I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) — Movie Review
Directed by: Charlie Kaufman. Produced by: Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Robert Salerno, Stephanie Azpiazu. Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman. Starring: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis.
As a general rule, I don’t like Netflix’s movies. I think they’re doing a fine (and in many cases, awesome) job with their TV series. But movies? Not so much. I don’t share Martin Scorsese’s view that streaming services like Netflix are “devaluing” cinema — I just think their movies are… bad. It’s that simple. They can — and do — hire the best actors in Hollywood, and they spend ridiculous amounts of money on their projects, but for some reason, their movies still manage to come out lusterless and unwatchable (Will Smith’s Bright, anyone?).
But then I saw the news about Iain Reid novel’s adaptation that’s being released. It has been critically acclaimed, and even nominated for a few awards. So I thought, “what the hell. Let’s watch it.” And so I did.
The plot (spoiler-free)
This 134-minute psychological thriller drama takes us through a young woman and her boyfriend’s road trip to meet his parents in their secluded farm. The girl’s name keeps changing throughout the movie, as does her personality and her relationship with her boyfriend. This strange farm visit gives us several clues into who the girl is and the nature of her relationship to her boyfriend. Both things are important in understanding the movie’s ending, which is quite convoluted and far from direct. Throughout the movie, you’ll get the eerie feeling that something isn’t quite right, and by the end of the movie you’ll know that’s actually true, even though you won’t be able to put your finger on what’s wrong the first time around.
The acting
The best thing about this movie was the acting. The four actors and actresses in leading roles were simply fantastic.
What can I say about Toni Collette? She’s one of the greatest actresses out there. Whatever movie she’s in, I know she’s going to be great (even if the movie itself sucked). From her fear-inducing role in Knives Out (2019), to her heart-breaking, emotional delivery in Hereditary (2018), whatever her role is, you know Toni’s going to own it. And she did. Her passive-aggressive, depressed, neurotic portrayal of Jake’s mom forces you to keep your eyes on the screen — on her. You can’t look away, and you can’t look at anyone else but her. Brilliant performance — as expected of this brilliant actress.
Then we come to our beloved English actor and director, David Thewlis. A multi-award nominee with stellar performances on both the small and large screens (you might remember him as Ares in Justice League [2017] — A hugely disappointing movie with a good deal of acting to compensate for the movie’s failure). He doesn’t have the same amount of the ‘wow’ factor as Toni, but when he’s on-screen, you have to keep your eyes glued to his presence all the time (when both actors on the screen, you’ll get nystagmus from moving your eyes between the two). His deliriously depressed delivery of Jake’s dad, and their tremulous relationship, is very impressive and commendable.
Jesse Plemons played Jake, our protagonist. Jesse is a very good actor, although he usually plays supporting roles in most of the movies I’ve seen him in. His acting in this particular movie wasn’t as stellar as Toni’s, or as grim as David’s, but he played the melancholic, desperate-to-make-it-work boyfriend quite well.
Jessie Buckley played the young woman with the changing name, who’s supposed to be Jake’s girlfriend. The 31-year-old Irish actress made her debut on the silver screen in the British psychological thriller Beast (2017). But I think the role that actually introduced her to the world was in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019). She is a very good actress and she succeeded in conveying to us the different personalities of Jake’s girlfriend as the movie progressed. I expect to see more of her in the years to come.
The good parts
To portray the overarching depressing theme (which, as a spoiler, revolves about suicide), the movie used a dark, cold color palette which, combined with the brilliant acting, makes you depressed and hopeless in your own self. The soundtrack matched the mood as well.
Where it went South
I thought the movie was too slow paced for my liking. I am a restless person by nature, and having to sit for 2 and ½ hours to watch a movie is really, really difficult. That being said, I don’t think there were any wasted or unnecessary scenes, and the movie does a good job in terms of storytelling (just not fast enough).
The other thing that irked me was the long, monotonous monologues. Now I know why the monologues are there and, to be honest, each one was important in building up towards the movie’s ending. But again, movies are visual media — we are supposed to see, as well as hear things. If I wanted to stare at a still frame whilst listening to someone talking for 2 straight minutes, I would’ve downloaded an audio book instead.
My conclusion
So how do I rate I’m Thinking of Ending Things? Well, the acting was superb, the plot was convoluted and open-ended, the dialogue was fine, and the monologues were just too long. I would say the best thing that goes in it’s favor is the lead actors and their brilliant delivery. Overall, it was a good movie, if you can stand the slow-paced storytelling. I give it 6.5/10.
