Charlie Kaufman’s new film that had everyone questioning everything. Kaufman’s first movie since 2015, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, has everyone pondering into existentialism.
As a movie that’s equally abstract as it is alluring, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, has become one of the most talked-about new-released movies recently. The movie is an adaptation based on a novel with the same name by Iaian Reid, and the movie is directed by Charlie Kaufman. This marks Kaufman’s first movie since 2015 following Anomalisa, his stop-motion film.
Kaufman’s work tends to focus on more complex and grittier sides of life and this movie is no different. In the film, the female lead Lucy (played by Jessie Buckley) takes a trip to meet her boyfriend’s (played by Jesse Plemon) parents and once they arrived, that’s when things start to go dreary. The movie at first seemed like a scene out of a coming-of-age movie about the end of a relationship but then the two were trapped in said boyfriend parents’ house.
Image courtesy of Netflix © 2020
The movie particularly explores the ideology of one’s inner monologue. Along with the movie, a character’s perspective and/or thoughts are communicated to the audiences in different ways. And perhaps the mixing of perceptions is part of the reason why some viewers found the movie overwhelming and confusing.
“I was thinking about how people live in our heads through memory or fantasy or projection. Then with the sound design, we’re going for this sense of fracture and overlap and interruption – all the stuff that’s part of the process of thinking.” Says Kaufman to Dazed.
Multiple viewers admitted to rewatching the movie multiple times in attempts to get somewhat of an understanding of the film, some felt like slowly started getting it with every rewatch but some actually felt more questions popping up instead. That was exactly what Kaufman aimed for.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things is released September 4 and is available to watch on Netflix.