A Movie That Slips Between Reality and Illusion

December 7, 2020
Daisy Solomon

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Class of 2021

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I'm Thinking of Ending Things directed by Charlie Kaufman, is a movie that masterfully slips between reality and illusion, portrayed with the detailed cinematography of Łukasz Żal. Before I start this review, I should say that it might seem a little confusing, since I believe if you watch this movie you should have no hints as to what it will show. This two hour and fourteen-minute thriller/horror will leave you in utter confusion.

As the movie plays, the scenes become more and more unrealistic and nightmarish. Based on the novel by Iain Reid, the audience follows Lucy (Jesse Buckley) as she drives with her boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), to his parent’s house (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) during a snowstorm. The two characters don’t converse much during the drive, as Lucy’s inner narrative plays the role in filling the silence. Jake keeps interrupting her thoughts as if he is able to hear them, which adds to the awkward environment.

When they reach the parents’ house, that awkwardness soon turns into an even more confusing plot as the details of their past become blurred. The relationship between Jake and his parents raises suspicion when the conversation at dinner becomes repetitive and unreliable. The time spent in the house leads Lucy to question her own existence and the discomfort makes her want to leave even more than before. The more Lucy desires to leave, the more Jake becomes possessive and controlling over her. This notion is a comment on Jake’s desire to change his past to alter the image of himself in the present. He desperately holds onto an idealized life he has conjured in his mind, leaving the audience in a perplexed state for the final scenes.

If you want to watch this movie, it is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend watching the movie with another person.

Daisy Solomon is a BBG from Greater Atlanta Region and loves movies.

All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.

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