Review: I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) * out of *****

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), adapted for the screen and directed by Charlie Kaufman, is what happens when a filmmaker renowned for the wrong reasons is given carte blanche by a studio (Netflix) that has no fear.

Critics from The Guardian and The NY Times call it "one of the most daringly unexpected films of the year", and "Kaufman's most assured and daring work...as a director", so one goes in expecting something special.

Virtually plotless, with a theme of self-examination, and much navel-gazing, Kaufman, the epitome of hipster, pseudo-intellectual filmmaking, creates a grating, repellent, pretentious film, that is pure drivel masquerading as "high art". At over two hours, this is an excruciating experience, akin to watching a filmmaker talk to himself, and basically say nothing, for 134 minutes. Avoid.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.