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Charlie Kaufman is the only person who could successfully adapt I’m Thinking of Ending Things. the surrealist horror book by Iain Reid. He is cunning and subversive. One of the most eccentric writers currently working in Hollywood is Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman has an aptitude for telling tales that are both egregiously silly and profoundly tragic. Even stranger than Kaufman’s screenwriting credentials on films like Adaptation and Being John Malkovich are his solo directing efforts like I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
What is meant by “I’m thinking of ending things”?
I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows Jake (Jesse Plemons) and Lucy (Jessie Buckley), a young man who is visiting his folks for Thanksgiving, as they travel by car. When Lucy reads a disturbing poem about her experience of depression, their discussions start to take on a morbid tone. When Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis) start taking different physical shapes and having irrational conversations, the evening turns even more bizarre. An elderly janitor cleaning a school is shown in parallel with other video.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things can be confusing on first viewing; there are overt parallels and references to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” A Beautiful Mind. A Woman Under the Influence, Oklahoma!, William Wordsmith’s works, and even “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” However, Reid’s original novel is the only work of literature you actually need to comprehend the film’s message. Although the twist ending in Reid’s book is more explicit. Kaufman and the actors of the movie have indicated in interviews that it isn’t quite as explicit after the movie’s 2020 Netflix release.
While I’m Thinking of Ending Things is told from Lucy’s perspective, she is merely a Tyler Durden-esque extension of Jake. Jake considered going up to a girl at a trivia night event and asking her out. As he admits in his discussion with his parents. The movie is a continuation of a fantasy in which Jake approached this young lady, even though the real Jake never did. Jake is attempting to envision what his ideal life would be like with this girl. Whose name keeps changing because he can’t settle on one, and he’s uncertain of the appropriate time to introduce her to his parents. Which explains why their ages keep changing.
Further complicating matters, Jake is actually the same janitor who appears intermittently throughout the tale. This older guy is now thinking about the mistakes of his youth as he considers passing away. Jake seems to be thinking about suicide because of his depression, judging by the morbid talks he has with his girlfriend. The only vehicle left in the school’s parking area at the conclusion of the movie is the janitor’s truck. After hearing the sounds of an approaching car and snow being scraped, we see the janitor’s truck covered in snow. This would suggest that the custodian took his own life over the school’s Thanksgiving break and left the body in the janitor’s truck. Which was left in the parking lot.
Is Lucy actually there?
Although “Lucy” is expressly stated not to exist in Reid’s book, Kaufman took a risk by giving her agency. She is a device, but Kaufman said in an interview with Indiewire that “I wanted her to be able to separate herself from that.” In I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Jake has created a detailed backstory for his ideal girlfriend. Raising the issue of whether a fantasy can exist in and of itself. She might be an amalgam of the different women he’s been drawn to throughout his life, or she might be modeled on the girl he was too shy to approach at the trivia night event. (which would explain why her name keeps changing).
Also disclosed by Kaufman was his admiration for the notion that he “really liked the idea that even within his fantasy. He cannot have what he wants.” There are abrupt shifts in time and place as a result of Jake’s capricious nature and constant shifting of his mind. Jake frequently interrupts his conversations with his partner, as though he were debating with himself. The fact that this older guy is reflecting suggests that he may not have a firm grasp on his memory.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things makes references to other forms of culture.
The allusions to literature, music, and film in I’m Thinking of Ending Things can be explained by a scene in Jake’s bedroom. While Jake is showing his girlfriend his childhood space. We see references to a number of films, books, poems, and stories, including Pauleine Kael’s 1996 essay collection For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies. Kael’s infamously critical review of John Cassavettes’ A Woman Under the Influence is one of Lucy’s first phrases and mannerisms that she starts repeating. As Wallace himself committed suicide in 2008. Jake also discusses Wallace’s article from “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which adds to the atmosphere of doom.
Jake’s love of musicals is also made clear in the car talks he has. When he performs “Lonely Home” from Oklahoma while standing in front of the platform. We see references to what is probably one of his favorites! It’s a good choice because both the musical and the song are about a man’s romantic yearning and very archaic gender roles. In the stunning dream dance number, a younger janitor dances with a woman who stands in for his partner as Jake’s romantic fantasy continues.
Regarding the animated talking pig, it seems to be related to the farmland that Jake was earlier in the movie displaying to his girlfriend. The memory of his childhood has since become distorted and dangerously close to death. The teenage females working at the ice cream shop appear to talk about Jake in whispers and huddles. Which suggests that they are also a composite of the different cashiers Jake has interacted with over the years.