“i’m thinking of ending things” is an unusual film, to say the least. Coherence doesn’t appear to be its goal. The plot seems straightforward at first: A woman and her new boyfriend, Jake, travel to his parent’s house for a dinner party, but she’s already having second thoughts about the relationship. However, increasingly strange occurrences begin to derail any sense of contained linear narrative. I don’t just mean strange within the context of the story, but strange in a meta way that makes you question what story is even being told, in what order, and from whose perspective. Time and reality don’t appear to stay constant—Jake’s parents look decades older or younger in each scene. The woman’s name and occupation keeps changing. It’s unnerving how effectively the movie erodes viewers’ trust in the identities of the characters. All of this gets compounded by the fact that the film is saturated with references to other films, poetry, artwork, musicals, speeches, and more. Again, what story is being told here?
Despite all the bizarreness and deception, I felt invested in the film the same way I might feel intrigued by a captivating abstract painting or ambiguous poem. I can’t claim to completely understand it, but it was memorable. Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis all give superb acting performances that contribute building palpable suspense. There are many moments where something profound shines through, like the conversations the woman has in her head as she rides beside Jake on a dark snowy road, or the cryptic dance among high school lockers near the end of the film.
This is typical of writer and director Charlie Kaufman’s work. Some of his films are easier to grasp than others, but they all push the viewer’s perception to transcend in new directions. They often feature tortured artists, subtle twists of reality, and layers upon layers of self-aware narrative. They’re polarizing—some call his films the best of their decades and others dismiss them as pretentious fluff. “i’m thinking of ending things” certainly pushes boundaries as well, and while some viewers may find it excruciating to watch all 134 minutes of carefully planned tension, it may just make others feel more human. I’ve greatly enjoyed all of Kaufman’s movies thus far, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
