i'm thinking of ending things - Charlie Kauffman's new film

[I Am The Knight]

‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ Trailer: Charlie Kaufman Brings His Latest Mad Vision to Netflix

In this surreal and melancholy study of loneliness that’s one of the fall’s must-see films, Buckley plays an unnamed woman who accompanies her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) on a road trip in a snowstorm to meet his parents (Collette and Thewlis) for dinner at their farmhouse. Six weeks into their courtship and Buckley’s character already has plans to break the relationship off but can’t bring herself to do so. Once they arrive at Jake’s parents house, events spiral into decidedly Kaufman territory as the woman begins to question her surroundings, her sanity, and the fabric of the world around her.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Netlfix is going to dominate the Oscars this year, I feel, with Spike Lee, Fincher and Kaufman all releasing through them. I'm very excited about this one, I have absolutely no idea what's going on and I love that.

 

[scarlet-witch]

I'm tempted to read the book but I think I'll hold off to be surprised. This looks great.

 

[Persona]

Great book and this looks like it is following the book pretty closely but with that Kaufman vibe to it. Buckley, Plemmons, Colette, and Thewlis all look great.

 

[tzarinna]

I'm totally into this.

 

[Persona]

This is getting really good reviews so far.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Sitting at 87% on RT.

Aided by stellar performances from Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, I'm Thinking of Ending Things finds writer-director Charlie Kaufman grappling with the human condition as only he can.

 

[Boom]

Jesse Plemons is the next PSH.

 

[tzarinna]

Charlie Kaufman Explains I’m Thinking of Ending Things | IndieWire

 

[Persona]

I loved this and waxed on about it a bit too hard, perhaps, for Paste:

Don't Worry: I'm Thinking of Ending Things Isn't an "Everything Is Connected" Movie, but Also It Is

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I was not prepared for this film and for that I suffered a lot of confusion and frustration afterwards, but its definitely worth checking out for the great performances and the gorgeous cinematography. I even want to check out some of Kaufman's other films just out of curiosity and to see if they anywhere near as crazy as this one was.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Unfortunately...I should have ended this movie sooner.

Spoiler

It's like a boring version of Mulholland Drive. A huge chunk of the movie takes place in a car with boring pseudo-intellectual banter between the two leads - it's like Stuber, but much worse. The movie opens with a 22 minute car ride and rest assured there are plenty of in-car scenes later on. The rest of it is David Lynch or Donnie Darko wannabe nonsense - it's one of those types of movies. It all adds up to a bunch of 'who gives a ****' in the end as far as I'm concerned.

It's dull and drab and weird and sometimes annoying and it figures that's what movie critics want nowadays but they are not writing for general audiences by recommending this kind of stuff. If you're gonna be weird have a decent payoff and be entertaining throughout (like The Lighthouse) but this did neither.

 

[Closerframe]

I absolutely loved this film and thought my initial interpretation was spot on only to later find out the true meaning of the movie. Definitely intend on picking up the book to see how it compares.

Spoiler

Not sure why anyone would compare this to Donnie Darko. It has some elements of a Lynch film, but this feels more reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with “practical” surrealism versus Lynch being the horror version of Malick with scene inclusion purely for shock value over adding substance to what’s unfolding.

 

[scarlet-witch]

I'm tempted to read the book but I think I'll hold off to be surprised. This looks great.

What a sweet summer child I was...

This was not great In fact, I'm very annoyed with it over all, easily the most disappointing film of the year for me so far. Even though I guessed part of the "twist" fairly early, I wasn't expecting to feel so cold and empty about it at the end. Buckley gives a great performance but story-wise, what a disservice to her character.

 

[Persona]

So many elements of this film that are gonna haunt me for a long time. Thewlis' sad smile stares. The shot of dairy dessert cups. The shot from the poster. The meet-cute story. The swing set. The diligence pin. The music at the end. About a hundred things I should probably spoiler tag.

I fully understand why some will find it dull and others will find it too challenging or unpleasant, but for some of us this was a very special film. On another film forum it has been pretty moving reading the reactions and seeing how deeply yet also diversely this film has resonated for different viewers. It's really something.

 

[Persona]

Buckley gives a great performance but story-wise, what a disservice to her character.

Is it, though?

I'd argue the opposite. There is no fake out and no real twist in this movie. Right from the very beginning it is dealing with personae and constructs and what is the fundamental nature of identity. It is not even going for traditional movie standards of characterization because that is sort of the opposite of what it is trying to do (even as it incorporates dissociated elements of that as part of its filmic syntax and commentary). But none of this makes Buckley's character less, just because the film is asking what makes any of us who we are and how can we hope to understand and really know anyone else when we can barely grasp ourselves. Certainly, Buckley's character could have ended up very reductive, but the film pushes it all the way to the other end and beyond. She is ineffably, incomprehensibly more.

I don't want to give much away but that conversation she has in the school hallway was such an incredible moment to me. And a quiet brilliance was just flowing out of Buckley in that scene. I got chills.

 

[Kane52630]

Breaking Down ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ With Charlie Kaufman

 

[antsman41]

This was brilliant... pretty straight forward once you figure it out, but so enjoyable and nuanced with film things and common relationship speak that have that extra Kaufman-ness to it all. Just beautiful and sad, but happy within that sadness.