A Netflix Original Picture, Written and Directed by Charlie Kaufman.
Anyone who has seen his previous work will know that Charlie Kaufman is an incredibly talented writer who since becoming a writer/director has delved even deeper into the human psyche and his work has grown increasingly inaccessible for general audiences.
This continues even more than ever in ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’, a story that on the surface is about a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who is taking a roadtrip with her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to go and meet his parents (David Thewlis and Toni Collette).
However, as always with Kaufman, and as anyone who has read the book will already know, all is not as it seems. As soon as they arrive, people start acting strange and quickly the parents erratic behaviour is confused even more by the fact that they seem to be drastically ageing back and forward over the course of the night.
This is a non-spoiler review so I will not go into it any more details (and the true meaning of the film and what is really going on only properly dawned on me when I took some time to think after watching) but it is worth noting just how niche and confusing the film is.
All four main cast members are incredibly talented, but no one has an ‘easy’ role to really connect with and even though that is the point, it does create a type of emotional distance. Jessie Buckley is such a remarkable breakthrough talent and I’m so glad she has a major lead role, but Brie Larson was originally cast and I can’t help but keep thinking about what her portrayal of this character would have been.
Some people will hate this (me while watching), some people will love it (much of Film Twitter) and some will only appreciate it after it has all sunk in (me now). This is Charlie Kaufman at his most ‘Kaufmanesque’.
Rating = 3/5
