I'm Thinking of Ending Things - Review Thread

When you go into a film by Charlie Kaufman, whether written or directed by him or both, you know you need to bring your "A" game. It's fairly didactic to label his movies as "brain teasers", but that's often times what they are. Whether it's Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or his directorial efforts of Synecdoche, New York and Anomalisa, Kaufman is not a person who pulls their punches and will test his audience narratively in ways unique to even the most veteran of filmgoers. He mostly focuses on male protagonists who find themselves at unhappy midlife crisis crossroads who reinvent themselves in ways that take on surrealist or even science fiction paths that serve as larger metaphors for their internal struggles. In Eternal Sunshine, Jim Carrey finds out his ex-girlfriend has gotten her memory of him erased, so he does the same but with faulty consequences. In Synecdoche, New York, Philip Seymour Hoffman's character combats his failed marriage and unrealized potential by constructing a meta play about himself that involves the entire city of New York and is being constructed on the world's largest stage. In Anomalisa, David Thewlis (as a literal puppet) is dismayed at the routine of his life until he meets an "anomaly" named Lisa only to find himself dulled by her as well and settles back into his misery. There are certainly common themes in Kaufman's works, and yet how he portrays these ideas and arrives at them are wholly original and fascinating for those who have the patience and prudence to sift through what's mostly morose, dreary material with moments of Kaufman's hilarious wit sprinkled in throughout. I've enjoyed all of Kaufman's works, but understand that his films take the phrase "not going to be for everyone" to a new level, and he's increasingly difficult to embrace in his work since the universally beloved Eternal Sunshine. That leads us to what is his latest and most challengingly distant film yet, I'm Thinking of Ending Things. This is very much in the fashion of Kaufman's work, with brilliantly composed camera tricks, innately constructed dialogue, and offbeat but downtrodden characters that occupy his repertoire. But it's also a film that will try most people's patience, even those familiar with what they're getting into, and while I was always intrigued by what Kaufman offered I can't say that I was highly entertained with his brain games this time around either. Once its final puzzle box machinations are revealed the film loses a bit of luster as well looking back on the groundwork before it, but anyone who's a fan of any or all of Kaufman's previous work should proceed with caution but still merit this a look.

Lisa (Jessie Buckley) is being driven through an approaching blizzard by her new boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), to meet his parents at their isolated farm house. Right away, Lisa internally informs us that she realizes this relationship isn't going anywhere and she wants to end things before they progress any further towards the inevitable demise. She states that meeting a significant others' parents is a big step, so why even bother doing this when she knows it won't last? Jake almost seems to be able to read her thoughts, pressing her on what she's thinking and attempting to cheer her up with discussions about literature, physics, and film. They're both intellectuals, carved right out of the sort of pissing contest one would imagine two Ivy League grads would have over a long car ride to exert cerebral dominance. This sequence goes on for a long time, and complete with the return trip in the car comprises most of the film. This is Kaufman flexing his dialogue muscles to the fullest, and it's apt to lose people pretty quickly, but there's a lot to admire about their banter and Kaufman's carefully composed mind games between the couple. The most interesting part of the film is when they arrive to the farmhouse of Jake's parents. There's a creepy, eerie feeling to the place and initially I thought Kaufman was going to careen the viewer down his version of Hereditary (maybe I thought that because Toni Collette is in this too), but it never goes that far. Time, memory, and space seem to be all over the place, and Lisa gets strange phone calls from a variety of different woman, none of which she answers immediately. Eventually Jake's parents, Mother (Toni Collette) and Father (David Thewliss), pop up for dinner and the four embark on an amusing roundtable of Jake as a child, relationships, and what constitutes art. This was easily my favorite part of the film, and what happens shortly after dessert is something to behold in true Kaufman fashion. Mother and Father age, revert back to younger selves, and Lisa seems to walk from one life event that either has happened or will to another in less showy but similar fashion to sequences we've seen in Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's a dizzying but provoking experience like only Kaufman delivers, but strangely enough for all the eerie setups the film sort of retreats from the notion of being a true thriller and sends the couple back into their car on the return home. What follows from there is more dialogue and the final reveal of what the title truly means, and while it's effective I also felt that Kaufman overextends himself and thus the audience in these moments and I'm Thinking of Ending Things will have lost most of its audience long before things fall into place.

And was it even worth getting there? I suppose so. There are some wonderfully creative sequences that Kaufman has composed for the finale and a fair amount of suspense while doing so. But the film's ending also feels a bit underwhelming, as if Kaufman has revealed too much with his inserts throughout the film while also dawdling around for too long to the point of being unnecessarily abstract. It's a confusing film until it's not, and looking back on the prior events I can't shake the feeling that I was duped into being fed the more interesting premise and wanted something more sinister, more horror focused. Now, Kaufman is adapting this from a novel, which I did not know until after viewing the film, but the first half still feels like a lot of creepy posturing that leads to a pretty straightforward reveal at the end. And that's not entirely fair; I'm criticizing the movie for not following the narrative direction I found to be more intriguing as opposed to the one Kaufman presents. And yet I don't think this is Kaufman's best work either. While the brain teases and camera tricks are certainly prevalent, especially in the farmhouse scenes, it doesn't measure up to any of his previous films either in regards to cleverness or execution. I feel like on a second viewing I'm Thinking of Ending Things will be even more disappointing in discovering how obvious the clues and narrative tricks are, and while that doesn't take away from the mind melting nature of the initial viewing it doesn't bode well for revisiting it down the road. I'm Thinking of Ending Things has a lot to admire, and in the end I found myself constantly intrigued and invested in what Kaufman delivered despite the film never moving in the narrative direction that I felt was more interesting either. This is my least favorite Kaufman associated film, but there's always something to be said about a filmmaker who's putting out such unique cinematic experiences every time as Kaufman does. Those hoping for the thrilling and comedic highs of Being John Malkovich or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or the morosely delightful storytelling of Anomalisa will be disappointed. This is a frustrating and alienating film at times, and even those who have enjoyed Kaufman's work in the past should proceed with extreme caution. The journey is a fascinating one, but not one I'll be taking again anytime soon.

7/10