Have you ever felt the incessant, unpleasant chill of having cold feet but no matter what you try to do they won’t warm up? This is the state of mind that surrealist psychological thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things thrusts us into; a chill that never budges but it doesn’t want to either. It is full of misery, identity crisis and confusion, a film that is so despairing yet painfully relatable.

 

Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and based on the 2016 novel by Iain Reid, I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows an identity-shifting, quirky girl whose name starts as Lucy (Jessie Buckley). The tone is immediately dismal, she is detached from her boyfriend who  despite the fact she’s about to embark on a journey to meet his parents.

Before discovering the deeper meaning, it’s quite convincing that the film is simply about an awkward and unhappy couple. This alone draws you in, the linear car journey to the parent’s bleak farmhouse is nothing but them both sat having a fascinating but disjointed conversation whilst a blizzard falls around them. Pathetic fallacy of the constant downpour sets the mood for entrapment of the mind.

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On the surface level, people can relate to relationships that have turned sour, or perhaps being someone who is ‘too nice,’ so you land yourself in uncomfortable situations. In this instance, it’s Lucy going to meet her boyfriend’s parents, despite the fact she’s repeating “I’m thinking of ending things” in her head. It’s a believable story, and by positioning unique Lucy with her vintage style and tight ginger curls as the main character, it works on both levels.

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We are introduced to what may seem like a random janitor as it intercuts between him and the couple in the car. Lucy’s changeable identity introduces the main theme of existential dread and questioning, a common theme in Kaufman’s work and a phenomenal adaptation of the novel, written by Iain Reid.

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Of course on a deeper level, the most important character is the janitor, despite the fact he takes a backseat in the film. Jesse Plemons acts well as Lucy’s boyfriend, taking on the character of Jake, a quiet, unsettled and socially awkward character who always seems extremely uneasy.

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Jake and Lucy’s visit to the farmhouse is all meant to be in the janitor’s mind. He has created Lucy as a perfect girlfriend, which explains why her identity is constantly changing to try and make her fit into his life.

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Aspects such as Jake seeming to know Lucy’s thoughts by interrupting, his mother waving madly at the window but then failing to come downstairs for ages, and Lucy’s painting actually being Jake’s, are all hints to it being an imagined construct in the janitor’s mind as a form of escapism but ultimately, his thoughts convey the loneliness, insecurities and sadness that he feels.

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It is a film that artistically gets right into our heads and intrusively but captivatingly makes us question our feelings about existence. The continuous repetition of ‘I’m thinking of ending things’ at the start, we learn, is actually about being suicidal.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is crammed full of literary and film references. On the car journey, Lucy (or Louisa, or Lucia, take your pick) articulately recites the poem ‘Bonedog’ by Eva H.D, surrounding by the melancholy snow outside. The poem is very sad, how fitting, and is about coming home to an empty house, and Jake declares that it’s like it has been written about him. Big clue!

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They also have feminist debate on the lyrics of ‘Baby, It's Cold Outside’. Lucy offers a long review of John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence, and Jake discusses William Wordsworth’s Ode: Intimations of Immortality, with its overarching theme of ageing.

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There are more literary references when they are in Jake’s parents' house. In his childhood bedroom, there are several books, including one that reads the ‘futile efforts of success.’

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The film is full of deep and thought-provoking phrases such as “humans cannot live in the present, so they invented hope, animals know the inevitability of death” all linking to existential dread.

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Another fantastic element of the film is the acting by Toni Collette and David Thewlis, who play Jake’s parents. In particular, Thewlis’ performance stands out, perhaps because he is generally such a great actor, but the mix of humour and warmness oozes out of his character just as much as the creepy and warped journey it’s taken on.

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The film is ramped up to another level of distortion when we meet the parents in jumbled up timelines of their ages. This plays with linear time, contrasting from the car journey at the start, questioning the ageing process, representing the thoughts of Jake that are jumbled up, his memories playing all at once at times. At other times barely anything is happening. The constant haunting, humming and whistling sounds of the wind assist in the quieter moments and add to the spooky ambience of the farmhouse.

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The scene in Jake’s childhood bedroom where Jake’s dad is visibly older and suffering from dementia/Alzheimer’s is both touching and disturbing. It is perhaps the most powerful scene in the film as it delves into the tragedy of dementia in such a poignant way. This again is credit also to Thewlis’ incredible performance. He mentions ‘fucking’ to Lucy, which is abrupt, both unsettling with a streak of absurd humour, and when he declares that he’s “looking forward to when it gets very bad and I don’t have to remember that I can’t remember,” is both quite humorous and desperately sad at the same time.

The simple repeating of “this is Jake’s old bedroom” three times is powerful as it emphasises the state his mind is in but does also add an absurd element of humour to what is extremely upsetting.

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This scene also represents the power of the film in that the viewer is constantly questioning whether it is funny in parts or just totally creepy. This is what makes it so gripping, keeping the viewer engaged and pulling at different emotions constantly. The humour element stops it from being entirely miserable and shows it’s a powerful film in that it can evoke completely separate emotions.

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Whether you like this film perhaps boils down to how you view a film or what you want it to do for you – do you want it to make you think or do you want to comfortably understand what’s happening on at face value? This film certainly requires the viewer to put in this work.

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Thrillers reach their desired effect of success if they lurk rent-free in your mind long after the credits have appeared. Successful thrillers stir up your innermost desires, fears, and thought-provoking contemplations.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things creates a nightmarish feel of how mundane things can create such a miserable atmosphere that you can never escape from. It is more than a horror, it is a mix of misery that never ends. It sets out to entertain by engaging with our identities and existential concerns.

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It is a film that goes nowhere but everywhere simultaneously.