There are some movies I’ll start watching, realise their terrible and quit within ten or fifteen minutes. Writer/director Charlie Kaufman’s latest drama/thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things is not that kind of movie. One might say it’s worse because I’d hoped to like it far more than I did.
I expected more because I rather enjoyed Anomalisa (2015), and had hoped that I’m Thinking of Ending Things would be similarly pleasing and thought-provoking. It may well be thought-provoking for some, but post-viewing, it did not inspire me to think anything significant, except ‘what a waste of two hours.’ Particularly since the peculiar happenings that inspired me to watch the movie in the first place, never really get explained.
Kaufman’s story of a young woman who comes to question everything she thought she knew about her new boyfriend, upon arriving at his parent’s secluded farm is a film that may have fans raving on about the way it explores loneliness, death, sanity and so on. Yet, I for one didn’t want to work as hard and have as much patience as I’m Thinking of Ending Things requires of its audience.
By the third or fourth time that Jessie Buckley’s character says the words ‘I’m thinking of ending things‘, the film had lost me and I’d got far beyond the point of simply ‘thinking of ending things.’ I wanted to stop watching; yet I needed to see how the story would end.
Buckley, Toni Colette, David Thewlis and Jessie Plemons all perform brilliantly. Still, none of it proved enough for me. Regardless of the ‘stylish’ way the story is edited and told; the scares and other creative choices, it just didn’t result in a satisfying experience for me. Instead it felt incomplete.
I’m sure that very serious fans of Kaufman will likely enjoy this the most. For everyone else, sure, give it a chance if you’re SUPER curious.
Happy Film Loving
G
The Movie My Life 
My curiosity for this one is now mostly gone after a number of reactions have said it’s not worth the ‘hard work’. I guess it’s more certainly critics than the average audience member who’ll like it a lot.
It’s unfortunate but I can’t blame you.If you haven’t seen Anomalisa (2015) yet, check it out. It’s really quite smart.
This is on my list!
I hope you end liking more than just the acting. I tried but couldn’t love it.
I actually thought the movie was mostly good, and faithful to its source material. For me the big letdown came in the last 5 minutes or so, a WTF?! sequence that pretty much ruined everything else. He could have stopped right before the appearance if the animated pig and it would have been brilliant.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wish I did too, overall. You’re absolutely right about the last five minutes. That part really cemented just how annoyed I was by the end result.
As for the source material, I’m unfamiliar with it and I suppose those who appreciate it may like this movie more… except for the last five minutes, of course. 🤓