So you're thinking of watching this film...
A single viewing is not enough to justify a final interpretation. I can tell that the film intends to say and deliver more than the initial takeaways, in the same fashion as Eraserhead or Mulholland Drive, but overall this lengthy film is more frustrating than thought-provoking.
I'm thinking of ending things is a heavily layered and a feast for your eyes. This is definitely an arthouse film. The stand out for me was the visuals alone. With stunning colors and framing, every shot felt like it belonged hanging in a museum.
For the entirety of the film, there's something about the scenes that just don't sit right. In many ways, this was clearly intentional but generally, the whole film felt out of place. It's confusing, wildly slow, but interesting. The best way I can describe the film is by watching a strange dream be played back in real-time.
There are random, oddly bizarre sequences of narrative that never quite piece together seamlessly, which makes for a frustrating watch. The performances were solid due to the cast attached, these are staple actors who can deliver and execute any screenplay.
I'm generally speedy when it comes to interpreting and analyzing information on the screen as the scenes are occurring however, with this film I was honestly just bored. Nothing was drawing me into the film, to pay attention to the little details, and pick up on hidden elements to further analyze on a second viewing.
Although the film is meant to be rewatching and digested in smaller parts. At times I felt as it was too pretentious in being a film viewers can't understand. This gave zero motivation to dive fully into the film, as the two hours progressed it felt more like a chore watching the film, that something insightful like it's presenting its self to be.
With that said, the over two hours run time was way too long. I'm a huge fan in long movies and prefer that immersive, longer timeframe. After learning that the novel this was adapted form was only 200 pages, this only added more irritation to the overly pretentious aspect of it all.
So I can't say I enjoyed the film, however, I also can't justify not liking it completely. I can wholeheartedly say the experience of watching the film was not enjoyable but I'm not going to discredit it's stunning arthouse cinematography and performances.
I'd save yourself two hours and perhaps watch another film. It's a stunning film but other than that, I felt as if I had nothing to take away from the film that would justify its length.
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