I'm Thinking Of Ending Things: A Cerebrally Twisted, Existential Nightmare
Five long years after the last Charlie Kaufman film (and 12 even longer years since his last live-action effort), the celebrated screenwriter-turned-director is finally back with another cerebrally twisted tale of existential dread. Adapted from the Iain Reid novel of the same name, I’m Thinking of Ending Things takes viewers on a strange and squirmy journey full of psychological thrills that entangle time, memory, and experience into one bleak and nightmarish reality.
Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake's mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.
2020 may be a veritable dumpster fire, but it seems to be a pretty good year for Charlie Kaufman. Within a span of three months, he released his debut novel, the mammoth, 720-page, hilariously scathing satire Antkind, and I’m Thinking of Ending Things, which marks his first live-action effort since 2008’s existentially vast Synecdoche, New York. While his singular brand of surrealism and cerebrally complex explorations of universal themes (like identity, mortality, and the meaning of life) are often polarizing, there’s always an undeniable sense of craftsmanship, humanity, truth, and ingenuity that oozes through Kaufman’s writing (in its various forms), which can be appreciated even if you find the concepts confusing or “pretentious.”
With I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Kaufman’s adaptation stays true to the heart of Reid’s novel. He takes many artistic liberties and makes many renovations, but they all help to create a tighter, more nuanced story, one that better veils the twists and turns of its fascinatingly sad thought experiment. He tones down the overt horror leanings of the novel (like its heavy use of the mysterious caller), trades in its oddity for one that’s more visual, humorous, uncomfortable, and unnerving, removes its inter-chapter foreshadowing gimmickry, and brings the whole mind trip to a mesmerizingly surreal, tragicomic crescendo, which messes with your head in the same ways the book does. In short, he completely makes the story his own; he honors the unnerving quality of the source material and culminates all his hallmarks into a riveting exploration of regret, longing, and the frailty of the human spirit.
The unique experience Kaufman creates here is a mix of Eraserhead’s surrealism (particularly the dinner sequence) and The Lighthouse’s psychological mind games. It’s a continuity and pop culture lover’s dream that merits multiple viewings and rewards those who pay close attention. Every detail of its execution, no matter how random it may appear on first blush, was carefully considered, thoughtfully arranged, and cleverly fed into the story at large. Like most Kaufman films, it’s about a number of things; twisted fantasies that give way to cold realities, external factors that are assimilated to create a sense of self, the wistfulness of old age, the cruelty of time, an indictment of toxic masculinity, a plea to kill the ideation of woman and ourselves. More than anything, it’s achingly human, oddly funny, and profoundly moving.
A lot of the film’s vitality comes through the performances, particularly Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons (whose shared names add a meta layer to the relationship between their characters). They’re able to tightly hold attention when a bulk of the film is them driving in a car, and they find excellent character beats within Kaufman’s idiosyncratic writing. Toni Collette and David Thewlis get to have the most fun with their performances, and they really lean into it all the way, creating moments of outright hilarity and terrifying peculiarity. Their appearance and age change from scene to scene, revealing a lifetime of blurred memories between Jake and his parents that allows Collette and Thewlis to explore their minor roles in deep-reaching ways.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things may be a tough watch for some, but it’s a highly affecting endeavor, one that sticks with you and intensifiers the more it’s processed and unpacked. It’s a conversation starter that opens the floodgates to an array of topics, and it unravels in a supremely enthralling manor. As longtime Kaufman enthusiasts, it’s everything we could ask for. We’re clearly biased here, but in our humble opinion, it’s easily one of the year’s best.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Charlie Kaufman, or love uncomfortable, cerebral cinema, definitely give I’m Thinking of Ending Things a watch, as we think it’s one of the year’s best offerings.
Rating: 5 endlessly shaking dogs outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!