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I’m Thinking of Ending Things — Why it is such a Pretentious Bad Movie.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the most recent movie from Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, both highly acclaimed film. Kaufman is known for writing dream-like stories in which characters dwell in a surreal reality, struggling over a sense of connection and identity.
It is not different in this recent installment, that tells the story of a couple going on a road trip to the man’s parents house. The story's arcs are mostly structured throughout the journey. The first act is the travel forward. The second takes place during their stay in the parent’s farmhouse. And the third is a sort of travel back that leads them into a High School building.
The editing and acting in the movie are great. There is not much to complain about in this regard, although the latter is an actual achievement due to the weird dialogue structure, with characters continually reciting music and poetry. There are a few scenes in which the characters communicate clearly with each other. One of the few even takes place in an inside movie.
There are, of course, other points to be praised in the movie, and most of the reviews and analyses I read about it mostly focus on them. However, there are essential aspects of the story that are profoundly…
