Which is not to say, Kaufman’s re-imagination of Reid’s thrilling tale is incomplete, it’s just void of horror. Many of the horror images and tension built by Iain Reid are plainly left by the wayside. While Kaufman truly knows his way around a camera and some ethereal story telling, his chops unfortunately don’t include the nasty world of horror. As the dreamscape begins to get under Young Woman’s skin, the pair rightly decides to escape the impending snow storm and head back the ease of the big city - but not before an inexplicable stop by a nearby high school. They age, disappear, re-age, and devolve right before Jake and the Young Woman’s eyes. Jake’s awkwardly disturbing parents wonderfully, played by Toni Collette ( Heriditary) and David Thewlis (2006’s The Omen), wander in and out of time and space. When the pair arrives at Jake’s parent’s house the weird gets ratcheted up but quick. Yet, the entire time, lingering in the background is the idea that things could quickly becoming to an end.” Sadly, while Jake and Young Woman cover a lot of territory this critical discussion of the foundation of relationships is largely left out of the film.Ī very confused Jessie Buckley as Young Woman. It’s a cool device that works in the same way as deliberate architecture that forces you to both look at, and out of, a certain window.Īs we mentioned in our review of Iain Reid’s book, “…all the while Jake and his protagonist gal pal dissect the universe over the course rather interesting dialogues about the human condition, what it means to be in a relationship, and the ultimate test of any intimate relationship- when is a lie really a lie? The graduate level philosophical entwinement between our narrator and Jake is deep and satisfying and clips along at a believable and forthright manner. It confines the conversations and gently places all the action in a perfect box. Making the entire affair extra stilted, Kaufman consciously chooses to shoot the entire film in a 1:1 perfectly square aspect ratio. The conversations are purposely stilted, nonsensical, and dreamy. All the while, the two pick apart the universe and the very personal intricacies of life’s oddball offerings. The two leave the confines of academia for a quick and snowy jaunt to Jake’s parent’s house. Mostly told through the perspective of Young Woman, and largely acknowledged by her hyper-quirky betrothed, Jake. Based on the book of the same name, by Iain Reid, Kaufman’s weird-fest follows Young Woman ( Jessie Buckley) - yep, that’s her name in the movie and the book - and boyfriend Jake ( Jesse Plemons). Much like all his previous work Charlie Kaufman turns in a real puzzler with 2020’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. One after another.īUT, he’s never really dabbled in the horror genre, nor has he dealt with a storyline so chilling, unnerving, and downright baffling. And it kind of shows. A repertoire filled with unimpeachable films. A deep thinker that throws head-scratchers our way every chance he gets. I mean, really, who are we to ever question the greatness of the great Charlie Kaufman? A visionary.
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