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Back at the farmhouse, the young woman notices a picture of Jake as a child that she believes to be of herself but ignores it by eating dessert. While eating, Jake's mother reveals that she has been suffering from [[tinnitus]], causing her ears to constantly hear a hissing noise. The young woman receives a call from another "friend", this time from a woman named Yvonne, and after being pressured by Jake's family, she picks up the phone and receives a message from a voice ([[Oliver Platt]]) telling her that there is "one question to answer." She then hangs up.
Back at the farmhouse, the young woman notices a picture of Jake as a child that she believes to be of herself but ignores it by eating dessert. While eating, Jake's mother reveals that she has been suffering from [[tinnitus]], causing her ears to constantly hear a hissing noise. The young woman receives a call from another "friend", this time from a woman named Yvonne, and after being pressured by Jake's family, she picks up the phone and receives a message from a voice ([[Oliver Platt]]) telling her that there is "one question to answer." She then hangs up.


Soon after, things begin to get increasingly surreal as the young woman is referred to by many different names, said to have multiple different professions, as well as Jake's parents transforming from normal parents to their younger selves, and into patients of [[dementia]]. Soon after, they finally begin the drive home. Jake mentions several events of the night that the young woman does not remember, including her drinking too much wine; word association leads to an extended discussion of [[John Cassavetes]]'s ''[[A Woman Under the Influence]]''.{{efn|The young woman's monologue is taken directly from [[Pauline Kael]]'s review of the film. This review is collected in ''For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies'', which can be seen in Jake's childhood home.<ref name="indiewireguide></ref>}}
Soon after, things begin to get increasingly surreal as the young woman is referred to by many different names, said to have multiple different professions, as well as Jake's parents transforming from normal parents to their younger selves, and into patients of [[dementia]]. Soon after, they finally begin the drive home. Jake mentions several events of a night that the young woman does not remember, including her drinking too much wine; word association leads to an extended discussion of [[John Cassavetes]]'s ''[[A Woman Under the Influence]]''.{{efn|The young woman's monologue is taken directly from [[Pauline Kael]]'s review of the film. This review is collected in ''For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies'', which can be seen in Jake's childhood home.<ref name="indiewireguide></ref>}}


Driving home during a snowstorm, the pair decide to stop at Tulsey Town to buy ice-cream. Once there, the pair meet multiple employees (Ashlyn Alessi, [[Abby Quinn]], Gus Birney, and Hadley Robinson) who are also students at the school the janitor works in. While the young woman buys the dessert, a bruised employee attempts to warn her of something she can't describe.
Driving home during a snowstorm, the pair decide to stop at Tulsey Town to buy ice-cream. Once there, the pair meet multiple employees (Ashlyn Alessi, [[Abby Quinn]], Gus Birney, and Hadley Robinson) who are also students at the school the janitor works in. While the young woman buys the dessert, a bruised employee attempts to warn her of something she can't describe.


The couple soon decide they do not want their food, and Jake stops at the high school to throw away their mostly full cups. In the parking lot, the pair have an argument and begin to [[Making out|make out]]. Jake notices the janitor watching them from inside the school and decides to confront him, leaving the young woman alone in the car. After a long wait, she decides to look for Jake inside the school. The janitor talks to her and it is implied the night she met Jake went differently than how it was previously said to have gone, with her saying that nothing happened between them. The janitor offers her a pair of slippers identical to the ones Jake gave her before. She politely declines, they hug and he allows her to continue her search for Jake.
The couple soon decide they do not want their food, and Jake stops at the high school to throw away their mostly full cups. In the parking lot, the pair have an argument and begin to [[Making out|make out]]. Jake notices the janitor watching them from inside the school and decides to confront him, leaving the young woman alone in the car. After a long wait, she decides to look for Jake inside the school. She meets the janitor and, among other things, she tells him that nothing happened between her and Jake on the night they met. The janitor offers her a pair of slippers identical to the ones Jake gave her before. She politely declines, they hug, and he allows her to continue her search for Jake.


She sees Jake at the end of a hall and they watch on as two people dressed like themselves engage in a lengthy [[dream ballet]], reminiscent of the one in ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', with her taking the role of Laurey, Jake taking the role of Curly, and the janitor taking the role of Jud, as they fight over her. The ballet ends the same as the musical, with the janitor killing Jake with a knife.
She sees Jake at the end of a hall and they look on as people dressed like themselves engage in a lengthy [[dream ballet]], reminiscent of the one in ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', with her taking the role of Laurey, Jake taking the role of Curly, and the janitor taking the role of Jud; the male characters fight over her. The ballet ends in the same way the musical does, with the janitor killing Jake with a knife.


Later, the janitor leaves the building after cleaning up the school. In his car, he suffers a [[mental breakdown]] and sees images that seem to imply he is an older version of Jake. He [[Paradoxical undressing|undresses]], and walks back inside the school completely naked, following the hallucination of a maggot-infested pig who tells him "Someone has to be a pig infested with maggots, right? It might as well be you. It's the luck of the draw."
Later, the janitor leaves the building after cleaning up the school. In his car, he suffers a [[mental breakdown]] and sees images that seem to imply he is an older version of Jake. He [[Paradoxical undressing|undresses]], and walks back inside the school completely naked, following the hallucination of a maggot-infested pig that tells him, "Someone has to be a pig infested with maggots, right? It might as well be you. It's the luck of the draw."


On an auditorium stage, Jake (made up to look elderly) receives a [[Nobel Prize]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/5885733/im-thinking-of-ending-things-review/|title=I'm Thinking of Ending Things May Be Based on a Novel, But It's All About Charlie Kaufman|date=September 3, 2020|website=[[TIME]]|author=Stephanie Zacharek|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200904154630/https://time.com/5885733/im-thinking-of-ending-things-review/|archive-date=September 4, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and sings the song "[[Lonely Room]]"{{efn|"Lonely Room" was originally written for ''Oklahoma!''; in the show, the song is sung by Jud.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.looper.com/242531/the-ending-of-im-thinking-of-ending-things-explained/|title=The ending of I'm Thinking of Ending Things explained|date=September 4, 2020|website=[[ZergNet#Owned_or_associated_websites|Looper]]|author=Brian P. Rubin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904154220/https://www.looper.com/242531/the-ending-of-im-thinking-of-ending-things-explained/|archive-date=September 4, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> to a full audience, including his parents, the Tulsey Town employees, and the young woman all in stage makeup to appear older, who then give Jake a standing ovation. The final shot is the parking lot of the school the next morning with the janitor's car covered in snow.
On an auditorium stage, Jake (made up to look elderly) receives a [[Nobel Prize]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/5885733/im-thinking-of-ending-things-review/|title=I'm Thinking of Ending Things May Be Based on a Novel, But It's All About Charlie Kaufman|date=September 3, 2020|website=[[TIME]]|author=Stephanie Zacharek|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200904154630/https://time.com/5885733/im-thinking-of-ending-things-review/|archive-date=September 4, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and sings the song "[[Lonely Room]]"{{efn|"Lonely Room" was originally written for ''Oklahoma!''; in the show, the song is sung by Jud.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.looper.com/242531/the-ending-of-im-thinking-of-ending-things-explained/|title=The ending of I'm Thinking of Ending Things explained|date=September 4, 2020|website=[[ZergNet#Owned_or_associated_websites|Looper]]|author=Brian P. Rubin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904154220/https://www.looper.com/242531/the-ending-of-im-thinking-of-ending-things-explained/|archive-date=September 4, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> from the stage version of "OKlahoma" to a full audience. The audience included his parents, the Tulsey Town employees, and the young woman, all of whom are wearing stage makeup to appear older. They give Jake a standing ovation. The final shot is the parking lot of the school the next morning; the janitor's car covered in snow.


Toward the end of the credits banging and whirring can be faintly heard.
Toward the end of the credits, banging and whirring can be faintly heard.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 20:35, 5 September 2020

I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Official poster
Directed byCharlie Kaufman
Written byCharlie Kaufman
Based onI'm Thinking of Ending Things
by Iain Reid
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyŁukasz Żal[1]
Edited byRobert Frazen
Music byJay Wadley
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04) (United States)
Running time
134 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a 2020 American psychological drama film written, directed, and produced by Charlie Kaufman. The film is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Iain Reid and stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things was released in select theaters on August 28, 2020, and on Netflix on September 4, 2020.

Plot

Throughout the film, glimpses into the life of a high school janitor (Guy Boyd) are presented.

In the main story, an unnamed woman (Jessie Buckley), a university student studying quantum physics, contemplates ending her seven-week relationship with her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons). Before she does so, Jake proposes that she meet his parents out on their farm. During the awkward drive, Jake attempts to recite a poem he read when he was younger, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality", about a woman named Lucy, only for the young woman to interrupt him by receiving a call from a friend also named Lucy. Finding out that the young woman writes poems, Jake pressures her into performing one in the car to pass time. After she recites a morbid poem about bones,[a] the pair arrive at the farm.

Inside, the woman notices strange markings on the basement door, a dog named Jimmy, and Jake's parents (David Thewlis and Toni Collette). During dinner, the group talks about the woman's hobby of landscape painting, her studies of quantum physics, and the story of how she and Jake met, with the pair meeting at a bar near the university's campus during trivia night. During the chat, she continues to receive text messages from Lucy, and Jake becomes more aggressive toward his parents.

At the school, the janitor watches a film directed by Robert Zemeckis, following the story of a woman named Yvonne (Colby Minifie), who is fired from her job as a waitress when her boyfriend (Jason Ralph) causes a scene at the cafe she works in by yelling at a customer (Teddy Coluca).

Back at the farmhouse, the young woman notices a picture of Jake as a child that she believes to be of herself but ignores it by eating dessert. While eating, Jake's mother reveals that she has been suffering from tinnitus, causing her ears to constantly hear a hissing noise. The young woman receives a call from another "friend", this time from a woman named Yvonne, and after being pressured by Jake's family, she picks up the phone and receives a message from a voice (Oliver Platt) telling her that there is "one question to answer." She then hangs up.

Soon after, things begin to get increasingly surreal as the young woman is referred to by many different names, said to have multiple different professions, as well as Jake's parents transforming from normal parents to their younger selves, and into patients of dementia. Soon after, they finally begin the drive home. Jake mentions several events of a night that the young woman does not remember, including her drinking too much wine; word association leads to an extended discussion of John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence.[b]

Driving home during a snowstorm, the pair decide to stop at Tulsey Town to buy ice-cream. Once there, the pair meet multiple employees (Ashlyn Alessi, Abby Quinn, Gus Birney, and Hadley Robinson) who are also students at the school the janitor works in. While the young woman buys the dessert, a bruised employee attempts to warn her of something she can't describe.

The couple soon decide they do not want their food, and Jake stops at the high school to throw away their mostly full cups. In the parking lot, the pair have an argument and begin to make out. Jake notices the janitor watching them from inside the school and decides to confront him, leaving the young woman alone in the car. After a long wait, she decides to look for Jake inside the school. She meets the janitor and, among other things, she tells him that nothing happened between her and Jake on the night they met. The janitor offers her a pair of slippers identical to the ones Jake gave her before. She politely declines, they hug, and he allows her to continue her search for Jake.

She sees Jake at the end of a hall and they look on as people dressed like themselves engage in a lengthy dream ballet, reminiscent of the one in Oklahoma!, with her taking the role of Laurey, Jake taking the role of Curly, and the janitor taking the role of Jud; the male characters fight over her. The ballet ends in the same way the musical does, with the janitor killing Jake with a knife.

Later, the janitor leaves the building after cleaning up the school. In his car, he suffers a mental breakdown and sees images that seem to imply he is an older version of Jake. He undresses, and walks back inside the school completely naked, following the hallucination of a maggot-infested pig that tells him, "Someone has to be a pig infested with maggots, right? It might as well be you. It's the luck of the draw."

On an auditorium stage, Jake (made up to look elderly) receives a Nobel Prize[3] and sings the song "Lonely Room"[c][4] from the stage version of "OKlahoma" to a full audience. The audience included his parents, the Tulsey Town employees, and the young woman, all of whom are wearing stage makeup to appear older. They give Jake a standing ovation. The final shot is the parking lot of the school the next morning; the janitor's car covered in snow.

Toward the end of the credits, banging and whirring can be faintly heard.

Cast

Production

It was announced in January 2018 that Charlie Kaufman was adapting the novel for Netflix, as well as directing.[8] In December, Brie Larson and Jesse Plemons were cast in the film.[9][10] In March 2019, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette and David Thewlis joined the cast of the film, with Buckley replacing Larson.[11]

Principal photography began on March 13, 2019 in Fishkill, New York,[12] and was completed on April 29, 2019. As of November 7, 2019, the film was in post-production.[13][14]

Release

It was released in select theaters on August 28, 2020,[15] and on Netflix on September 4, 2020.[16]

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 7.69/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

Notes

  1. ^ The poem comes from Eva H.D.'s collection Rotten Perfect Mouth.[2] A copy of said collection appears later in the movie.
  2. ^ The young woman's monologue is taken directly from Pauline Kael's review of the film. This review is collected in For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies, which can be seen in Jake's childhood home.[2]
  3. ^ "Lonely Room" was originally written for Oklahoma!; in the show, the song is sung by Jud.

References

  1. ^ Oscars: What the Crafts Nominees Are Doing Next
  2. ^ a b Kohn, Eric (4 September 2020). "Charlie Kaufman's Guide to 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things': The Director Explains Its Mysteries". IndieWire. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. ^ Stephanie Zacharek (September 3, 2020). "I'm Thinking of Ending Things May Be Based on a Novel, But It's All About Charlie Kaufman". TIME. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Brian P. Rubin (September 4, 2020). "The ending of I'm Thinking of Ending Things explained". Looper. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d O'Neill, Mae Harrington (11 August 2020). "I'm Thinking of Ending Things release date, cast, synopsis, trailer and more". Netflix Life. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  6. ^ "I'm Thinking of Ending Things review – another superb nightmare courtesy of Charlie Kaufman". The Guardian. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Rooney, David (August 27, 2020). "I'm Thinking of Ending Things: Film review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Charlie Kaufman Adapting Novel by Canadian Author Iain Reid for Netflix". The National Post. January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike, Jr. (December 3, 2018). "Brie Larson To Star In Charlie Kaufman's Netflix Movie 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things'". Deadline Hollywood.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 5, 2018). "Jesse Plemons in Talks to Star in Charlie Kaufman's 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things'". Variety.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 26, 2019). "Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley and David Thewlis Join Charlie Kaufman's Netflix Movie". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Howland, Jack (March 21, 2019). "Charlie Kaufman movie for Netflix filming in Fishkill, Hudson Valley". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Robinson, Jacob (November 7, 2019). "Netflix Movie 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things': Release Date, Cast, Plot & More". Netflix. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (November 7, 2019). "Charlie Kaufman's Brain-Bending New Movie Made for a 'Delirious' Shoot, Says Jesse Plemons". IndieWire. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Netflix Review - I'm Thinking of Ending Things (August 2020)
  16. ^ Canfield, David (July 16, 2020). "Exclusive: Charlie Kaufman previews his wild Netflix film I'm Thinking of Ending Things". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  18. ^ "I'm Thinking of Ending Things Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 5, 2020.

External links

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