Critical Review - I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Film 2020)

I'm Thinking of Ending Things A Netflix Feature (2020)

 

BACKGROUND

A Netflix feature September 2020.

A film adaptation of Canadian writer, Iain Reid's debut novel of the same title (2016), by its director Charlie Kaufman.

An American Psychological Thriller under the Horror/Drama category.

OVERVIEW

The off kilter relationship between a 'young woman', Lucy, (Jessie Buckley) and her boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons) is revealed through the former's narration.

The two are strangely melancholy together. Lucy (whose name/face changes at odd times) have arranged to go meet Jake's parents, so they take a long car journey for the purpose of doing so. This provides, for the delivery of the main plot, the opportunity to contrast their personalities. It is not obvious as it happens and dialogue seems slow and repetitive, but these early scenes reveal what is essential to know.

As the narrator, Lucy's private thoughts are also heard, where the blandness of Jake is overidden by his enthusiasm for Lucy's talent as a student, an artist and a poet. He acknowledges a good few times too, her back story, her early life on the farm, etc., With the wintry road ahead, the conversation in the car intentionally reveals much more about the woman than it ever does the man.

A changing emphasis takes the viewer away from the two travelling in the car at times, to a grey haired man, who appears to leave a weird, stuck-in-the-mid-century home, to go to work. When scenes continually return to this aging man, they show him working as a school janitor. In his quiet times he is observing the young students and we sense his invisibility while amongst them. When he watches a musical theatre performance; he cuts a lonely figure.

Things get way weirder once the couple arrive at the parents' house. The dark patch on the ground; the behaviour of the dog; the slow reception of the visitors by the parents; the scratches on the door. The tenseness during the meal; the shameful glances; the put downs, and the inappropriate things said. And throughout, Lucy receives calls to her mobile phone which displays the names of girlfriends ringing, but when she answers there's a male voice repeating messages; these she awkwardly dismisses.

After dinner, more dreamlike, unexplainable, things happen. A family photograph of young, Jake, is actually one of Lucy as a child when you look close. Paintings in the basement in Lucy's artistic style bear Jake's signature...and other strange things occur.

The most bizarre moments are when the parents' house becomes a time warp, with Jake's Mom and Dad appearing at different stages in their life while interacting with their two present day visitors.

Lucy appears nothing more than a little confused at any one time; and just keeps insisting that she must get back home because of the worsening weather. Jake reassures her that they can do that safely enough in the heavy snow because he "has the chains", apart from that he is the same old empty shell throughout.

The drive home involves an unlikely stop off at a 1950's icecream palour, followed by a drive into the school grounds for Jake to dispose the litter. When he returns to the car he suddenly sees an old man's face at the window snooping, so he jumps out in pursuit. Lucy follows shortly after and she meets the janitor in the corridor; she asks if he has seen Jake. The Janitor is reassuring saying that Jake is fine; all is fine in a kindly way. They share a tender moment and a sad goodbye for two people who have only just met. This is the final confirmation that Jake and the Janitor are linked, and Lucy too.

The performance between two young dancers within the school walls represents Jake and Lucy (as deeply intense lovers). A romantically imagined version of the two is unleashed in a beautiful, artistic ballet. However, like many dramatic tragedies the romance is cut dead, in this case it is when the Janitor himself intervenes in a choreographed fight, and at the end the dance is over and the tragedy is apparent.

The final scenes are explained below.

Comment

Wha-Hay this is one mystery to suss! Things have a surprise effect on the viewer. Not an edge-of the-seat-kind of ride, nevertheless, this is unsettling to watch and completely baffling. A style the reviewer prefers rather than horror for the sake of it and so she willingly stayed watching the movie to the end. When the end came, the reviewer was not immediately enlightened, and to make sense of it involved some deliberation and source researching after watching. Many will not give it such time because this is a slow paced film. Nonetheless, they should as this is super clever with some inventive creativity to be admired.

To further overview and to conclude, it is important to consider the penultimate scene involving the Janitor and The Pig. This is an indication that the pig story, which the viewer heard earlier from Jake, actually formed part of the Janitor's own history. Therefore, a final confirmation that a real life, Jake never existed.

In fact, the whole story we come to understand better when we learn it is fabricated from elements of the old man's past and his imagination. Lucy too, being an imagined love for this man is based on a young woman whom he only met briefly in his youth.

Confirmation then, that all the chaotic, nonsensical happenings is a result of a doubling, and in this case a tripling of characters.

The final scene - and we see Jake as an elderly man receiving the Nobel Prize, and Lucy, (and others), proudly clapping in the audience. The reviewer concludes as being another example of the Janitor always being looked upon as doing unskilled work and invisible in his workplace. Feeling regretful of never making any great ripples in life. So through his imaginary Jake it is he (the Janitor) receiving a dream accolade. 

The story reveals that the Janitor had a lifelong appreciation for many things that did not come his way. A deep thinking individual on the inside, who, perhaps did not possess many natural skills, or had little or no faith in his own abilties. His dreams were dashed somewhat by those less educated around him growing up, and little opportunity to make good. Therefore, he was left leading a mundane life, unloved, and mourning a lost youth. This he supplemented by the imaginary twosome he created in his mind. Or is this a further twist to the tale? Discuss. 

This exploration shows you how to structure a story that will completely baffle by design. Therefore, this is one to appreciate, it is completely memorable and for the right reasons. If it isn't, then it should be. If the viewer comes from a cold call starting point reading reviews like this one, as a preview, will help fill the gaps.

Wonderfully and perfectly cast.


                                    **ENDS**

Review by critic Debra Hall (UK)