{"id":21193,"date":"2020-09-02T20:50:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T03:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=21193"},"modified":"2020-09-02T20:50:14","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T03:50:14","slug":"im-thinking-of-ending-things-is-an-unforgettably-dark-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=21193","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS is an Unforgettably Dark Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This film is available to stream September 4th<\/sup> on Netflix.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie Kaufman is an artist who has created brain-twisting works\nfor decades. He wrote the brilliant oddities Being John Malkovich<\/em>, Adaptation<\/em>\nand Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind<\/em>, while also serving as writer\/director\non the Oscar-nominated animated feature, Anomalisa<\/em>. For those who\nhaven\u2019t seen the latter film, it featured a meek lead character uncomfortable\nin his own skin, trying to find meaning in his life while seeing those around\nhim as alien and impenetrable, and perceiving the outside world as being\noverwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His latest is the similarly eccentric piece, I\u2019m Thinking\nof Ending Things<\/em>. It\u2019s based on a novel by Iain Reid, but actually feels\nlike something that could have come directly from the filmmaker\u2019s own mind. The\nmovie a piece of art that is vibrant and sharply written, yet incredibly depressing.\nIf you don\u2019t care for Kaufman\u2019s unique style or dark take on existence, this\nfilm will no doubt be a frustrating or even infuriating endurance test.\nHowever, if one can adjust to the surreal environment and empathize with the\nmain characters, it is a remarkable and powerful experience that one is\nunlikely to forget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A young woman (Jessie Buckley) ponders ending her\nrelationship with boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons), but agrees to travel with her\nbeau to his family home and meet his mother (Toni Collette) and father (David\nThewlis). It\u2019s an uncomfortable journey, with the woman mulling the situation\nin her head as well as the pros and cons of being with Jake. She appreciates\nJake\u2019s simple kindness and warmth, but also has dreams of completing her physics\nPhD and even branching out as a painter. The pair travel through a snowstorm\nand arrive at the isolated farmhouse, only to find things increasingly strange\nand surreal. In fact, Jake is incredibly nervous and his parents exhibit\nstrange quirks. Even more disturbingly, she\u2019s told to stay away from a\nscratched-up door leading to the basement. It isn\u2019t long before the guest just\nwants to return to town and sever ties, but must endure an extended evening in\nthe house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All of the cast members are fantastic in their unique roles which\nrequire unusual ticks and comedic moments alongside pathos and despair. There\nisn\u2019t a moment that isn\u2019t unsettling. One can see the pressure, nervousness and\nincreasing exasperation Jake feels about the situation and dealing with his\nfolks. The parental roles are incredibly challenging, running the gamut from\nexaggerated reactions to behavior that seems downright threatening. And most\nimportantly, the female protagonist is relatable as she attempts to process the\nsurreal events occurring around her and attempts to figure out what\u2019s going on.\nIn the process, even she starts displaying some unusual attributes. Everyone is\nphenomenal in their unusual roles.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is a technical marvel as well. It\u2019s gorgeously\nphotographed in color by Lucaz Zahl (Cold War<\/em>, Ida<\/em>). These are\nsome very pretty shots of the snow falling in a small town early on. The\ncinematographer once again uses square framing which, which ultimately adds a\nlayer of claustrophobia to the proceedings. The lighting and sets themselves are\nequally impressive, depicting a farmhouse that is in some respects relatable\nquaint and relatable, but slowly becomes something far eerier and more surreal in\nappearance, creating a tangible sense of unease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While certain elements of the feature are open to\ninterpretation, it seems that he discussions between the lead characters and\nthoughts about their interests, their fear of growing old and complaints our\neveryone\u2019s tendency to waste time all come into play again abstractly late in\nthe film. In the end, this movie does not dance around the harshness of life.\nIt is most definitely a movie about regret, missed opportunities and\nunfulfilled aspirations, as well as desire and the hidden wants and desires\nthat are present within us all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Personally, I believe that I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things<\/em>\nis a unique and exceptional film. Still, viewers should realize that it is not\na feel-good movie and is very much an acquired taste. However, if you enjoy the\nwork of Charlie Kaufman, then it is most assuredly worth grabbing a drink\n(you\u2019ll need it), plunking yourself down and letting the atmosphere and mood take\nyou to a very dark and sad place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This film is available to stream September 4th on Netflix. Charlie Kaufman is an artist who has created brain-twisting works for decades. He wrote the brilliant oddities Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, while also serving as writer\/director on the Oscar-nominated animated feature, Anomalisa. For those who haven\u2019t seen the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,741,3295,3308,4139,5213,5346,6251,9600,9601,9602,9603,9616,10638,10666,19398,23076],"class_list":["post-21193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-adaptation","tag-book-adaptation","tag-book-to-film-2","tag-charlie-kaufman","tag-dark-comedy","tag-david-thewlis","tag-drama","tag-im-thinking-of-ending-things","tag-im-thinking-of-ending-things-film-review","tag-im-thinking-of-ending-things-movie-review","tag-im-thinking-of-ending-things-review","tag-ian-reid","tag-jesse-plemons","tag-jessie-buckley","tag-surrealist","tag-toni-collette"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}