Review of The End of the Tour (2015) by Cliff J — 22 Dec 2015

***** Excellent.

I can quickly lead you to the end of my review of the indie flick "The End of the Tour" right now by leaving all the puns out, but I really don't like that ending. Director James Ponsoldt's fascinating verbal masterpiece "The End of the Tour" is one of the best movies of the year, and it's a shame it has not received the award love it deserves in the movie award tour so far. It is based on a mid 90's interview by Rolling Stones mag writer David Lipsky to acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace. Sadly, the real Wallace committed suicide a few years ago. The film is mostly a dialogue tour of two braininess writers. At that time, Wallace broke through the literary world with his acclaimed novel "Infinite Jest". Lipsky read the novel and convinced his Rolling Stone editor to "start him up" and interview Wallace for a magazine piece. Donald Margulies's script of the movie brilliantly captures the nervousness & anxiety of these two successful scribes, and it authentically demonstrates how humanization can be both filled with ultra intelligence mixed in with high anxiety. Ponsoldt's conversational scenes (which for the most part fills up most of the movie) between Lipsky & Wallace is something that left me conversing to others on the spectacular directorial effort of the movie. Ponsoldt also provides us insight on the topic of depression & isolation via Wallace's personification. Jesse Eisenberg was accurately Eisenbergish as the nervous but determined Lipsky. And Jason Segel delivers one of the best acting performances of the year as David Foster Wallace; it just might be his infinite best work of his entire career. If you don't like "talkie flicks" then you should skip this tour; but if you do, begin or end your day for that matter with a viewing trip to "The End of the Tour".