Review of The End of the Tour (2015) by Jenna I — 01 Aug 2015

Hardly a bio-pic, The End of the Tour is more of a fictionalized interview with David Foster Wallace, rather than an attempt to dramatize his life story. David Lipsky's script (based off his actual experiences with the late author), certainly has a dramatic arc to it, but it's far more interested in the words of its subject.

Such a dialogue heavy movie clearly calls for two great performances, and fortunately it delivers at least half of that promise. Jason Segal shines in a career game-changer here, brilliantly capturing the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of David Foster Wallace, while also understanding his appeal as an everyman.

Jessie Eisenberg is less stunning, playing an archetype role that is admittedly growing a bit stale for him, but perhaps it's not unfortunate that another actor doesn't upstage that of Segel's.

Ponsoldt directs with a clear eye too, even if he doesn't rematch the transcendent opulence of The Spectacular Now here, and all in all he rounds out this very satisfying film. The best way to understand David Forster Wallace remains reading his writings, but this film is a breezy alternative.