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I’m Thinking of Ending Things- Movie Review

A Melancholic Dramatic Thriller, Hopeless Romantic

Cast and crew

  • Star cast: – Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis
  • Director: – Charlie Kaufman
  • Producer: – Stephanie Aspiazu, Anthony Bregman, Robert Salemo, Charlie Kaufman
  • Writer: – Charlie Kaufman
  • Based on: – I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
  • Cinematography: – Lukasz Zal
  • Production Company: – Likely Story
  • Genre: – Thriller, Drama
  • Distributor: – Netflix
  • Release date: – 4th September 2020
  • Language: – English

Popularly known as the wizard of imagination, Charlie Kaufman has directed his latest dramatic psychological thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things with Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley playing the lead roles. Kaufman is also one of the producers and script-writer of the movie. The movie is an adaptation of Iain Reid’s novel with the same name that was published in 2016 in the United States. Kaufman has given some marvelous movies like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” 2004, “Being John Malkovich” and “Synecdoche, New York” in the past, but I’m Thinking of Ending Things is different from any of his previous movies. 

The beginning of the film is dramatic but convinces the audience to go with the flow. Jake (Jesse Plemons) and The Woman (Jessie Buckley), as she is referred to in the entire movie, go on a road trip to his farm that is located far away, to meet his parents. Toni Collette has played his mother and David Thewlis has played his father. Jake and The Woman have been in a relationship for six weeks but she is thinking of ending things. “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” acts as a phrase that pops in their minds several times in the movie. They ultimately regret not making it happen earlier. This may either imply the woman’s suicidal tendencies or her plan to end her relationship with Jake. They both make a depressive couple and the spark lacks between them.

im-thinking-of-ending-things-scene

Upon arriving at Jake’s farm, surreal things happen out of nowhere, making the movie pointless and lose credibility from thereon. Jake’s bed-ridden parents appear younger versions of themselves moments later on the dinner table and “The Woman” starts imagining herself in his place after looking at young Jake’s picture. Jake drawing inspiration for a big story from the lambs that get frozen to death in the sheep-pen seems ridiculous. Jake’s parent’s morphing age doesn’t make their characters more convincing. The young woman’s profession keeps changing. Things get confusing and unsettling in the movie. The events that take place in the second half of the movie remain a mystery until the end and seem otherworldly and disturbing.

Another mystery in the movie is the appearance of a high-school janitor now and then. His character remains an enigma until the latter half of the movie. Conversations between Jake and The Woman sound dull. Jake sounds like a guy who has not cracked a single joke in his entire life and The Woman, even after hinting towards her suicidal tendencies, says that according to her, everything on this earth wants to live. Are these dialogues just philosophy or the near-death thoughts of a human? Still confusing!

The movie is nothing but a melancholic dramatic thriller. It makes the audience overthink the incidents that take place in the movie and the possible mystery behind them. Some scenes of the movie look like an illusion. It becomes obvious to any keen observer that the name of the film appearing several times in dialogues has been inspired by the cover picture of the novel. But Kaufman has presented the film differently when compared to the novel.

The movie is not entirely an adaptation of the novel by Iain Reid. There is no mention of any incidents from the novel in the movie except the part where Jake dies, but they present even that with a twisted ending, making the climax entirely different from the conclusion of the novel. The movie is like the wild and scary imaginations of an adventurous filmmaker displayed on the screen. Parental guidance and permission are strictly advised.  

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