Review of I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) by Mstivers — 06 Sep 2020

Charlie Kaufman is one of our greatest creators of movies, and this is his most Kaufmanesque movie. It's a beautiful puzzle. You can enjoy teasing out the meaning, or you can just bask in the surreal, unsettling atmosphere.

There are many cultural references which add to the meaning. For example, the dream ballet and song at the end are both taken from "Oklahoma!" and draw a parallel between Jake and the character of Jud, who are both outsiders who fantasize about a relationship with a woman who isn't interested.

And the prize acceptance speech is from "A Beautiful Mind", about a brilliant man who created an imaginary friend. And so on.