On Charlie Kaufman’s masterful, maddening ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’

Already responsible for some of the most mind-scrambling scripts of all-time, Charlie Kaufman continues to take his films to the outer edges of traditional cinematic storytelling.

The screenwriter of “Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation” and Oscar winner for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” first ventured into directing his own work with 2008’s “Synecdoche, New York,” a movie that made the meta-nature of “Adaptation” seem conventional by comparison. He followed that with “Anomalisa,” a glum-but-poignant animated film that became the first R-rated film to compete in the Oscars’ Best Animated Feature category.

Neither of those films performed particularly well with audiences, at least compared to his more universally-lauded screenplays. Kaufman doesn’t seem interested in pleasing casual viewers, and his new Netflix film, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” may be his most alienating (and brilliant) effort to date.

Adapted (sorta) from a 2016 novel by Iain Reid, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” deploys an elaborate mix of unconventional shot selection, editing and sound design to craft the increasingly unnerving story of a young couple on a wintery road trip.

The film opens inside the mind of an unnamed young woman (Jesse Buckley, breakout of last year’s indie musical “Wild Rose”) traveling with her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) through a snowstorm to meet his parents at their remote farmhouse.

From the beginning, she tells us she’s “thinking of ending things,” despite a seemingly fine relationship. During a long journey to the farmhouse, it becomes clear that something is amiss, not only with their dynamic, but with what we come to know about both people. For one, our protagonist’s name shifts a few times throughout the story, as does her profession, the way she speaks, etc. She looks directly into the camera on some occasion too, seemingly to directly address the audience watching her experience something… off-putting.

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” gets really weird once the couple reaches the farmhouse and dines with the parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis (both spectacularly odd). The parents appear old, then young, then older, and our protagonist keeps receiving strange phone calls. The family dog appears and disappears out of nowhere, there’s a particularly unsettling story about the pigs on the farm, and a creepy basement with scratches on the door and…

The psychological horror escalates, not with story action but with how Kaufman orchestrates every small detail. The windshield wipers during the car sequence play a key role in the rhythm of conversation and escalating tension, and a dinner table scene uses quick, off-tempo edits to frequently shift the power dynamics between the four main characters.

The third act returns to the car, and Kaufman takes “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” to its surrealist apex. It’s important to accept that not everything that “happens” in the last stretch of the movie makes literal sense, even as Kaufman’s bleak, poignant thematic ideas come into greater focus.

None of this would come close to working without the captivating and labyrinthian performances of the two Jesses. Plemons, a reliable supporting player on television in shows like “Friday Night Lights,” “Fargo” and “Breaking Bad,” as well as in movies like “The Master” and “The Irishman” evokes the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in all the best ways, and Buckley commands the screen at every turn, even as she must essentially “shift gears” from minute to minute.

The baffling final 10 minutes will be a dealbreaker for many, and one could argue the movie basically makes its overall point before this last sequence even begins. Still, credit Kaufman for taking the risk and “ending things” in a place where probably no other filmmaker would approach.

It’s destined to be another divisive entry in Kaufman’s filmography, but, like “Synecdoche, New York” and “Anomalisa” before it, might endure as yet another befuddling and challenging masterwork.

Tyler Wilson has been writing professionally about movies since 2000. He is the co-host of Old Millennials Remember Movies, available anywhere you get podcasts. He can be reached at [email protected].