Hey Friends, I've been really sick this week so I filmed, edited and uploaded this video a little late. It worked out to be the perfect time to be able to watch the movie and listen to the book. I am going to skip Monday's upload and rest tomorrow, then I'll be back on track for regular uploads. Thanks for sticking with me!
I hope you're feeling better soon! Me, my fiance and 3 and 13 year old got really sick about 8 days ago, we got tested for covid and thank god it came back negative 😅 Anyhow, thank you for taking the time out to film, edit, share and have this discussion with us even though you're not feeling well... just know WE ALL APPRECIATE YOU Sending healing vibes your way!!! Stay Spooky and Get Well Soon 🖤🖤🖤
The fact that his fantasies are like him being a painter or a writer or studying quantum physics or dating a girl he saw in a bar but in a reality (as an oldman) he ends up being a janitor. That's very sad and lonely and tragic.
yeah once i understood the story a lil more i realized how sad and kinda relatable the story actually is. i think the thing to take away from this film is dont let dreams, desires, and opportunities pass you by or you'll end up at the end of your line thinking about what could've been. pretty simple really
F*ck that’s depressing. I had the book in my wishlist on Audible for a while but took it out once I saw so many reviews saying that it just ends without an ending or explanation for the odd things that occur throughout the book. Then I saw the movie and was so confused so I listened to the book which I just finished today and still was confused. Your comment made it all come together for me and, man, that’s dark.
thifanny Yes, I’m pretty sure you’re right. I do remember it being discussed in the book by the investigators or whoever was talking about the suicide.
thifanny yes in the book he actually was a physicist once but could not deal with the work environment (likely due to social anxiety) and quit to be a janitor
The scene where Toni Collette's character was repeating a word "genus" as "genius, genius, genius" and the son yells "genus" then Toni Collette's face changed like she was gonna cry or something. I found that unsettling and kinda sad.
Yeah, me too. I was like "You monster! let her be!". Then I understood that he was kinda making her responsible for what he ended up to be. His mother insisted in the fact that Jack never stood out in anything but he always tried his best. That was also really sad. There's also that part where the mother says something like "Take some risks!" referring to the girlfriend going to the basement. I guess that means that, at some point, Jake's mother pressured him in to changing his life before it was too late.
I don’t think Kaufman intended to direct an exact adaptation of the book - he used it to explore other ideas, like time, the fear of aging and death, or how we are the products of the art we consume. I do love how the film and the book are different because the approches and intents were not the same.
It throws things off when the voice over is so directly taken from the book. I think I would have rather seen a unique story with this take rather than taking from the original story.
Me too. I enjoyed the experience of watching the movie, and I enjoyed the performances immensely, but I never really figured out the very basic conceit of the movie. I watched one of those "explained" videos here on TH-cam, and quite honestly felt like a dolt. The twist really was pretty obvious, with plenty of clues, but I just rolled with the experience instead of trying to understand anything, so the lightbulb never went on over my head.
I like the movie because it's well made and acted, but I'm absolutely confused at some parts of the movie. It's unfortunate that we need to read the book to understand the meaning.
i think that's the whole point, it's from the point of view of a deeply depressed and mentally ill person and i don't think we can fully grasp their understanding of life unless we know a mentally ill person or we are depressed ourselves. we're not meant to understand them on a surface level that's why we need to dig deep into their world and how their minds works for us to REALLY understand them. but that's just my opinion :)
For me this film was a perfect 10/10 until we get to the interpretive dance and beyond. It felt like it was trying to be too surreal for surrealism sake. Your explanation certainly cleared the ending up for me.
If you watch Oklahoma you would better understand the dance scene. There is a ballet scene with doubles actors as in the film. It wasn’t just a Kaufman invention. I understand that it could take you out of the movie but there are many references that would be missed and may seem out of place if the viewer is not familiar with the source material being referenced.
@@brianzybala9671 I’d say a basic understanding of Oklahoma is crucial - as a die hard fan of Kaufman. Before I did some research I felt the same way. But. Once I understood what was happening, especially the knife fight between Curly and Jud but with the subverted ending, I was beyond freaking wow’d.
I suffer from maladaptive day dreaming and this movie really resonated with me, it was almost painful to watch. I need to listen to the audiobook now! :)
That’s cool to know someone else out there deals with it too. It’s a confusing thing to cope with, hang in there. Yeah, I don’t think a lot is know about it, so it’s not really talked about.
I knew nothing about this film and got so sucked in. The first half filled me with dread not knowing what was happening, and the second made me sad for Jake. But man, can we talk about how creepy the dog scenes were?! The dog shaking and not stopping creeped me out so much 😂 it was one of the points where I realized nothing happening in that house was real. And I had also forgotten Toni Colette was in it so when she came down the stairs I was like YESSS I'm in for a treat now.
- SPOILERS FOR ANYONE READING THE COMMENTS WHO HASNT SEEN THE MOVIE - no, it’s just jake replaying the different memories he has of his parents, or memories of how they would behave. it’s similar to how he only remembers his dog shaking - the dog stays stuck in that moment he remembers. he remembers his parents in certain moments, which happen to range from when they were young to when they were dying. he does, however, fantasize about the young woman praising him for taking care of his mother when she had to be fed. BUT your assumption definitely comes from a place of understanding that throughout the film, yes, jake does change out certain details (the young woman’s name, the story of how they met, the young woman’s clothes, etc) to see if any of his fantasies would play out the way he wanted them to.
Who cares? I think the scenes were way too vague to the point where any explanation can be correct. Your version might be correct, mine might also be correct which leads me to think: Who cares, if it's that open for interpretation then it's really not saying anything. Sorry for the rant, just venting.
The movie is not really vague at all. I suffer from chronic depression and anxiety to the point where I dont have meaningful relationships anymore, and everything in this movie was incredibly, and literally painfully obvious to me. I guess if you dont sufferfrom those things you might think its ambiguous, but its not. Its sad. But accurate in what its depiction of having a chronic mental disorder can feel like. To prefer your fantasy of what might have been, much more than the lonely reality you find yourself in. I kinda felt like the theme was written in neon spray paint.
You hit the nail on the head with this review. I told my husband, “if I hadn’t have read the book first, I wouldn’t have known what the hell I had just watched”. I also think that sick feeling of dread was missing from the movie. As I read the book, I was overwhelmed with a sense of unease, particularly when she went into the basement with the backstory of the questionable brother. It felt so dark...the movie just felt confusing and it lost that unsettling aspect! I enjoyed the movie for what it was but it definitely took from the horror aspects of the book I think.
I never read the book and while watching the film I had that sick feeling of dread, especially when she went downstairs. Do you think the reason why you didn't feel that was because of your familiarity with the source material?
At first I thought she had been drugged, or was bitten by something, due to the rabies discussion in the car, as well as the ice cream girl having scabs all over her. At first I thought the memories were from the perspective of the unnamed woman, who had dementia (as people with dementia can fill in gaps in memory with false moments/memories), and the events at the house were of the times she visited her boyfriend’s parents at different stages of life, but all compiled into one “memory/event.” By the end I understood what was going on though. My first inclination something wasn’t right was when we saw Jake put the thermos away (that he never brought with him), which was the same one as the Janitor took to work with him. But I was still questioning “what” exactly was going on
I read the book first, and so I had the opposite feeling. I didn't understand what was going on in the book until the end. In the movie, I felt like it was really obvious early on.
Great review(s). The film really lost me after they leave the farmhouse. I knew, cos this is Kaufman, that I wasn't gonna get a neat beginning, middle and end but the last third to me, definitely dipped into pretentious territory. It felt like it was striving too hard to be analysed - is it about this, or this, ah no, it's about this whilst at the same time, it was kind of about nothing. I'm don't want to my hand held through films but this felt intentionally impenetrable and ultimately a little hollow. I really enjoyed the opening car journey and farmhouse scenes too.
I thought this film was about 30 minutes too long. I love slow burn movies that take you in a journey, but this movie had me grinding my teeth with impatience. I also loved the book, but the book is very short, it doesn’t linger, and it delivers its story with precision. The film version would have benefited from that same precision. Because so much of the story takes place in a car with two people having a conversation, I feel like they should have streamlined those scenes. They also replaced her bizarre story about an encounter with an older man as a child with one of the most depressing poems in existence. I did like what they did with the parents, however. I thought they made what was going a little more clear than in the book, but you were still left confused.
I was so mad when I finished this movie, like I wasted 2 hours of my life. I was invested at the beginning, intrigued at the weirdness of the family. And then... nothing!
This was honestly the first time that a movie made me feel like I as an idiot for not understanding what was going on. The fact that she never addresses the phone calls really threw me off too.
One of my favorite parts that I don't remember was in the book was the use of films and media. They talk about movies and Jake acts out scenes from the movie he sees. I loved that part.
I think as a person who hasn’t read the book this movie makes no sense. Now that I know what it all means I think it had a lot of potential, and if the twist was explained it would be great. I also hadn’t seen Oklahoma so that was soo confusing
The movie just reveals it's hand way too early in my opinion, I just stopped analysing and speculating about the movie after the first third and started thinking to myself "can we just get to the damn ending already?". That's how I felt about it.
I hadn’t read the book at all, and I feel I was able to pick up on a lot of these things, even on just a first watch. I absolutely love that the twist wasn’t explained, because I like being able to figure things out for myself, and I feel I haven’t figured out everything within the movie yet (I’ve seen it twice now), but I don’t see that as a detriment at all.
I haven’t read the book but the movie does make sense to me. Then again I’m a Charlie Kaufman fan and kinda know what to expect with his movies at this point
I thought it was about suicide the whole time lol. Also why do you think she has different coloured clothes throughout the film? (orange pink yellow blue) and why were their scratches on the door? And why is he so weird around his family? It came off like it was abusive or something.
She has different clothing/names/glasses because Jake has made her up and that is his delusion slipping. When you day dream or dream, things arent consistant, this was supposed to represent that.
It basically is about suicide. Jake is the old janitor fantasizing about what his life couldve been, the "im thinking of ending things" line is metaphorical. Since its all in his head and the girl technically IS him, when coming from her perspective it seems like shes talking about the relationship. In reality though, its Jake talking about ending his own life. The scratched door lead to the basement, where the "truth" lives. Thats why she finds the janitor uniforms and the paintings and poems she thought were hers down there. Thats why Jake didnt want her there..its meant to represent Jakes consciousness. Lastly, he was weird around his family because Jake is socially awkward, part of the reason he never found love and was so shut in. The book made it all way more clear tbh
Same here. As soon as I saw the title of the movie (I had no idea there was a book and I never read the synopsis or anything) I immediately thought suicide and that’s all I thought throughout the movie
As the others above have said, its about the janitor's imagined girlfriend. He spends the whole movie switching between different scenarios. One second she's a painter, the next she's a physicist, because she is just a personification of his regrets in life. A human "what if..." if you will
I think Kauffman is a better writer than director. It feels like he made the movie for himself and not the audience. Having said that I enjoy the most of the movie albeit completely confused at some parts.
You know what you are right. Kaufman does makes movies for himself. Sometimes they can be really endearing like Being John malkovich or The Adaption or ESOSM or sometimes they can be really confusing and self-indulgent like Synecdoche, New York or this. Seems like Kaufman needs other directors to make his story more palpable to the audience.
@@deepakjetly1717 Absolutely.... Those movies he didn't direct were masterpieces. I do like all the movies Kaufman directed but it could have been amazing if he let Spike Jonze at the helm.
Absolutely correct. I thought this myself when the film ended. He needed a director with discipline, and an appreciation of the audience's needs. The ending of the story felt wilfully, almost obstinately obscure. It felt like Kaufman was contemptuous of the idea that it should be clear to the audience what the story is about. I feel Kaufman is actually generally contemptuous of the audience. Another director would temper this contempt, as it did with Eternal Sunshine, or Adaptation.
So glad you're feeling better. ♥️ I liked the movie, but I'm not yet ready to rate it on letterboxd. Thanks for breaking down the differences between the book and the movie. ♥️
I still really liked this movie, but my husband and I figured it all out in about 10 minutes. I figured out who the janitor was the second he was on screen. Having seen other films by Charlie and watching/reading a lot of stuff with similar themes made it so I wasn't really watching this blindly and I couldn't be super surprised. I want to read the book since it seems to be getting a lot of praise, and might give me something to be surprised by. Good job explaining everything. :)
Holy shit lol I'm a new sub and I literally just had the thought "I' hope she reviews I'm Thinking of Ending Things" and boom like an hour later you put this up! Thanks a bunch haha
I love what Kaufman did so much with this film. I'm one of the seldom few who really disliked the book. I found the twist to be cheap horror, a "oooh it was actually a suicidal mentally ill man the whole time" gotcha moment that left a bad taste in my mouth. But I thought the movie really elevated the source material and made me really feel the horror of the mind, the horror of getting older and of being alone, in a way that the book didn't get across as successfully for me. Really really loved the film, best of 2020 so far for me for sure!
It's very interesting as I thought the completely opposite. I actually found myself disliking the movie because the trailers advertised it as a thriller and I found no thriller elements whatsoever, it also felt excruciatingly long in my opinion. Yes the reveal in the book wasn't the most creative but it worked for me, it kept me creeped out and engaged until the very last page. I'd also argue that the structure of the book also works as an audiobook (it won a prize I believe), which sort of reinforces my thoughts that he did not need to change the story this much, especially since it was very likely that people who hadn't read the book would see it. I doubt I would have gotten the point of the story without having read the book. To me the need to make the film very Kauffman-esque took away from the atmosphere that the book created. Just my opinion but it was interesting to read someone thought the exact opposite :)
I can't believe I never knew this channel for the longest time! I've only recently came across it, and I've been on a huuge binging spree ever since!! I love horror and her content is always so good, I love these videos and hope Emma's channel grows and grows because she deserves more recognition because she works so hard!
Another clue is that Jake's daydream includes a scene from the movie the old janitor is watching about the burgers. And in the car they talk about how movies influence you and change your perspective
The way they met also changed to the scene from the movie cause he says they met at a diner while he ordered the santa fe burger the same as the movie the janitor was watching
Never clicked faster on a video watched this on netflix yesterday and was looking for an ending explanation as I enjoyed it but was definitely confused 😂 and from my favourite youtuber :)
I'm curious if you're familiar with Charlie Kaufman's work, specifically his other adaptations. He's always played fast and loose with how he adapts a book into a film and I read an article before the book came out where a cast member said they only kept about 25% of the book's dialogue. I personally really enjoyed the film, but I understand that having read the book and having certain expectations of Kaufman as a filmmaker would probably help soften the weirder aspects of the film's artistic choices. I really loved the changes they made to the ending, it felt much more sympathetic to Jake as a character. In the book, he terrified me because we constantly seeing his actions from people outside looking in, whether it's the young woman narrating or the the police who find him. I found it difficult to understand his motivations and why he'd resort to living in this universe in his head. I'd watch youtube analysis, but everyone seemed to have a different take on what it all meant. Seeing Jake as the janitor wrestling with his day dreams turned delusions and accomplishing everything he ever wanted, but never could helped me understand him as a character. In this version, he's disappointed and angry at himself for not accomplishing everything he wanted to do like create art or study quantum physics. He's disrespected by the kids at the school he works for, which is undercut with the line he says while caring for his mother "it feels like no one sees the good things you do." I like they made Jake more sympathetic. I think Kaufman was the perfect person to adapt this book. His specific style captured the unease and dreamlike atmosphere the book portrayed.
I was thinking that the whole movie but the ending just kinda squashed that thought. Like she said, I think the really long family dinner distracted from what we were supposed to understand. Although, the whole sequence at the house was my favorite part of the movie.
If you read the book you realize that’s not true. The movie was just much more vague. It’s not completely abstract, there is a correct interpretation, but the movie doesn’t capture that completely
*long sigh* I don't care if I'm in the minority - I couldn't stand this movie. Kaufman is the poster child for a rare condition known as pretentious-head-up-own-ass-itis. I knew better than to expect something more than what Kaufman has revealed himself to be. Still, I went into this hoping that he'd find a way to write something closer to the masterpiece that is Eternal Sunshine. That didn't happen. As far as I'm concerned, Kaufman went off the deep end with Synecdoche into a far off obnoxious land of bewildering cinematic drivel and hasn't been seen since.
I actually found the book a little pretentious and meandering, too. 3/4ths of it was characters having pretty dull “look at me, I’m painfully intelligent” conversations. The film seemed to reflect this and everything outside the creepy scenes at the farmhouse turned me off. I guessed the twist of the book early on and kept hoping that it would go somewhere different but it didn’t... to me, it almost felt as cheap as an “and it was all a dream...” ending. There were so many things that weren’t ever addressed. Idk I didn’t vibe with book nor movie.
I'm in the minority too with ya. I hated the movie and have no desire to read the book after having looked up an explanation as to what the hell I has just watched 😂
the book makes more sense to me, the message is easier to pick up. i think that if they had stuck closer to the source the movie wouldve been alot less confusing.
@@YoungYahtz94 yeah, the book definitely conveys the message a lot better even if you don't get it at first (i didn't, had to reread the last few chapters lol). i really like how the movie kept the changing details and disorienting aspects, but totally changing the ending really blew the story that the novel was trying to tell in the first place
I read the book years ago and it was legitimately scary, I was so excited for the film and unfortunately was so disappointed. I actually hated the choices he made, and I think he completely ruined the ending. He made it unnecessarily inaccessible to most people, and lost all of the sinister and frightening aspects.
Your summary of the movie at the beginning of this video sounds SO MUCH MORE interesting than the actual film...which says a lot. I was excited about this film for quite a while, but ended up feeling deeply disappointed. I feel like a piece of art should be enjoyable without thorough research on some very specific references. I get that this film is more of a love letter to the book, but I hate needing to have the film explained to me in some forms. It feels entirely like being in the same room with a group of people who are sharing inside jokes that I was never a part of - it's just absolutely confusing and so uncomfortable.
Emma! I just finished the film and was left feeling so cold, but your explanation/comparison has totally nailed why certain things fell flat. The book sounds so compelling and I think the film absolutely tries to hard to throw you off its scent, to the point of the ending actually feeling undeserved (to me at least). I can always trust you to have something interesting to say about any film. Thank u!
@@spookyastronauts I'm sort of in the minority . I thought the book was interesting but only okay, and I didn't really like to film it all. I do like it a bit more having watched your video all the way through. Thank you for the explanations. I needed them.
I adored this film! And I wasn’t gonna read the book but I definitely going to now after hearing it’s quite different. I loved the films VERY ambiguous ending but I know that not many will 😂
I never read the book and watched the movie, Spoilers warning to not read the rest of my comment. I honestly thought it was a metaphor for Alzheimer's, Jake's dad had it in the film and it seemed like a clue like it was genetic. So I thought it was the janitor trying to remember this person he dated, but kept messing up on the name. His memories being interwoven with different points of his life. And the young women is kind of like the one who got away. The main things that threw me off were the ice cream shop, which I chalked up to be his fear of his high school life. And the whole ending sequence with the dance and weird fight sequence getting stabbed by the janitor. That one was hard to explain, because the janitor is killing his past self for the young women, which I kind of thought made sense because he wants what he had back then. Either way it is a trippy movie, that really made me pay attention to every detail in each scene to try to figure the movie out.
I really do love those weird movies that make you think in a different way but I do believe I have to read the book because the movie was a big no for me. It was musings of a perspective that I'm just not intrested in, ah well.
Now I really wish I had read the book first. I'm not sure if I can do it now. This movie felt like it went a long way to get to an ending that didn't make any sense. The acting and visual style was amazing, but at the end I felt like I'd wasted my time because it just didn't make sense. This helps me understand better what was going on.
I enjoyed the movie, but I would've loved it even more if I hadn't read the book first, cause they're completely different... The movie was more drama, and the book definitely more psychological thriller. I could see the clues at the beginning of the movie, like when he was mopping the floors and listening the theatre club performing, and Jake and "Lucy" hearing the same song in the car, was the earliest giveaway. Or when the mother mentioned something about his 50th birthday. I was also so excited to watch The Dream Ballet and all the Oklahoma references cause I'm an avid Broadway and I was delighted by that. Again, Charlie Kaufman did it. I think it's another piece that you have to go back a few times, if you want to get the most out of it, if you aren't much of a book reader. The book got to me in ways I never thought it would, probably because I'm clinically depressed and also have anxiety, I've been there, and I can see the book being a game of dissociation, where you daydream your life away in hopes to be saved from this darkness in your mind. Thanks for your review and hope you getter better soon enough💚
It's nice to see you're feeling better Emma. Being sick sucks. Of course you're allowed to take a couple days off if you're not feeling well your health always comes first.
I got to admit that when I read the book back in March at the ending I was like WHAT IT¨S GOING ON? Cause my fisrt language is not english so I was thinking maybe I am having troubles understanding this cause I don´t get it , especially in the part where the pages only say WHAT ARE YOU WATING FOR? , so it took me a while to understand the ending and then I was obssesed with the idea that Jake talks about that reality only happens once, a story is just a version of the reality and not quite accurate from what really happened, so I was so exited of watching the film cause I wanted to see how they´ll make the plot twist, but the movie I dont know I think it tries to make the viewer to think a lot, a did like it, did not enjoyed it as I was hoping to honestly especially cause the end it feel different not a straigh forward ending as in the book.
Just read the book last night and man... was I supposed to dislike both main characters with a passion? 😆 the ending was a welcome creepfest though! Edit: just watched the movie. Um, issa "no" for me dawg. It feels pretentious and self-congratulatory, if that makes sense?
*SPOILERS* I hadn't read the book but I did understand that it was the janitor killing himself and imaging his life from first watching. BUT I'm also a bit of a music theatre nerd and found that high school production segment to be the funniest thing ever.
I kind of agree. I would have loved so much to see a lot of the shocking stuff in the book onscreen. The book had me on the edge of my seat my entire time, the film just had me shrugging and saying "Oh, that's interesting".
Not gonna lie, I had no fucking clue that she ended up being Jake in the end, even with captions calling her young woman. I knew I liked it, but I thought it was a time loop with her stuck in an abusive relationship. But yeah, this makes more sense now 🤣
*spoilers* I went full Predestination with the idea that for much of the movie I thought that Jake was born a woman and we were witnessing the union before and after the transition. I really liked the movie.
Anyone else reading the title I’m think of ending things, and immediately thinking about suicide? I went into watching this film with this premise of someone planning their suicide and then incidentally also wanting to break up. I didn’t realise we were only supposed to think that she was going to end the relationship and nothing else....
I haven’t read the book, so I knew that Jake and the janitor were the same person about a third of a way through the movie and I honestly kinda thought that it was commentary on toxic relationships and mental illness
The speech at the end of the movie also from the movie A Beautiful Mind. Enjoyed the subtle lampooning of how Hollywood manipulates expectations of life and love. Great video, subscribed.
Fantastic comparison of the book to movie . The movie was very intriguing for the first 80 minutes , great acting and mysterious . Your explaination of the events made sense of the unanswered questions from the movie’s finale . Thanks for the informative video .
The camera angles made me uneasy and Toni Collette was awesome in the role, especially with the facial expressions when describing her "tinnitus." I was frustrated for the woman because she wanted to get home and there were so many sidetracks; it was dreamlike. I won't do any spoilers but the ending was thought-provoking.
I respectfully disagree with your take on the movie. I think the fact that the reveal is hidden behind surreal imagery, using its visual media to its fullest and referencing things unique to said medium as a strength rather than a weakness in comparison to the book. The movie asks the audience to engage with it through multiple viewings (and maybe research) to take your own interpretation out of it beyond "what it's supposed to mean". I don't think spoonfeeding the ending to the audience would have made the movie stronger, in fact I am of the opinion it would have made it forgettable at best.
She is fundamentally forgetting that film is a different medium altogether and it's symbols and images and "hidden messages" are the equivalent of words in a book
@@nicholasmichalfaul946 Exactly. It doesn't really "help" that the film does not hold your hand and expects something from the audience aswell. This is sort of meant to be watched multiple times and studied, not just enjoyed like a popcorn flick. I feel like she expected a character to sit the audience down and carefully explain everything.
after the movie ended, i was so angry that i wasted so much time on it. but after watching this and another analysis, i have a much bigger appreciation for it.
Best review out of the 6 I’ve watched. Good job 👍 David Thewlis was also my favorite part. Question: did Jake kill his parents? I haven’t read the book but I hear there was a big reveal concerning his notebook towards the end.
I saw that coming 30 minutes into the movie and I can't describe the amount of disappointment that I felt. I kept watching hoping that I might be wrong but it only got worse.
I watched this movie without even knowing what it would be about, thinking it sounded like romance and drama. As soon as they arrived to their destination though, I thought it might be something different. From then on I was sure it would be somehow about dementia (the parents house, her picture on the wall- i was wondering if she was a family member suffering of it and telling a story. Maybe someone telling a story to a therapist.) and there were a few times dementia was brought up during the movie.. Or a horror movie about some girl being drugged and kidnapped, memory wiped somehow, piecing the picture together. 🤦♀️ It was a lot of fun to watch without knowing ANYTHING, so I would recommend doing that, I dont regret it at all, even though it was hella confusing. 😄
I honestly thought that the movie ending was more gentle, a little less brutal though always extremely heartbreaking. The parents' section of the movie didn't really distract me, and I thought it was really appropriate. In the peculiar moment that Jake is facing, is pretty obvious to think about the people and the moments that somehow left a mark on his path the most. Both the book and the movie anyway are staying with me A LOT. It's hard not to think about the importance of our choices and how quickly we can find ourselves on a road we didn't really want to take.
Same same saaaaaame. I read it, listened to the audiobook and then watched the movie, all in about 2 days because I really wanted to give it a fair shake. Did not like the characters nor the story though the book at least gave us some dread towards the end. I guess I can give it that? 🤷🏼♀️
I had no idea what was going on in the movie then I listened to the audiobook and it only clicked that it was all Jake’s daydreams once I watches this vid🤣
Thanks for explaining this wacky movie. I was expecting something totally different, and it delivered. Toni Collette and David Thewlis made it all worthwhile. Without those (2) performances, this film would have been a complete waste of time. Hope you are feeling better.
Why does jake get so mad at small things? And what was with jakes reaction to his old self "peeking" (in the car at the school) Also the truck starting up after the credits....
I read this book a couple months ago and I fell in love with it! It sucked me right in and the ending was mind boggling. I just finished watching the movie and ... I did not like it. I feel like if I hadn’t read the book before seeing the movie I would have no clue what the ending meant and would be very confused! So I definitely agree with you that you NEED to read the book first before the movie! I feel like there should be a warning before the movie starts saying that ... it makes the movie more enjoyable and provides a different experience.
I also compared the book and the movie! whythebookwins.com/im-thinking-of-ending-things-book-vs-movie/ I actually think their endings are the same, even though it shows it differently. but yeah having read the book makes the movie much less confusing
i think the movie was better than the book. the book really felt like an ‘it was all a dream’ moment to me bc literally the first thing i thought when i saw the cover of the book ended up being the twist. maybe it’s because i actually suffer from delusions and such so i notice these things better but it was incredibly disappointing to me because the book is a really enjoyable read, but the end feels like it was rushed in the way it ties things together. the movie however gave less away by not cutting to the two people in the highschool talking about the ‘incident’ with the janitor (which i think gave too many clues and should’ve been more subtle) and using surrealism to really build on the themes the book started. anyway ian reid’s second book ‘foe’ is far superior in my opinion
hey @spookyastronauts I've just watched the movie (first 3rd) and drifted to get a reveal and boom - you. I've subscribed and hit the bell icon -- I'm requesting you to kindly share your review/(EndingExplained) on the 2010 Christopher Nolan's movie "Inception. humbly looking forward great review, keep it up 👍🏽
I could not agree with you more about reading the book first. I really really wish I had done that. The moment the film ended I downloaded the book and I can't wait to watch it again when I'm done
The movie takes on its own path due to the vision of the creator. I liked your video very much but I do not agree with your statement of the second act being so distracting. In the house there are so many clues that dive deep into the mind of Jake. His room shows all the things he was interested in, with which he created the ideal girl he wanted. He also seems to have had a dysfunctional relationship with his parents wanting recognition never really getting it; shown with his frustration during the conversations through the seens, and it seems to show he stayed home to take care of his parents till they died never really going out to pursue a life of his own. It shows past passions never realized like the art in the basement and so many more represented as clues in the room. All in all liked your video.
@@spookyastronauts I don't know what this says about me, but I truly enjoyed the movie. 99% of movies always have the good guys win at the end. Films like Salo (as over the top it was) is closer to reality, where evil people*do not* get punished for their ways on this earth. Great channel btw 😉
As a horror fan (I've seen over a thousand of them), a rare good one from the 1977 which involves zombie nazi is Shock Waves, starring Peter Cushing and Brooke Adams. There is a copy available for free on youtube.
This movie and 2008`s Synecdoche New York is why Charlie Kaufman is my favourite screenwriter (director) the abstract approach to existential horror and coping with it making some of the best works ever made on cinema
personally i think people should watch it first and read second. i read first and watched second and while i really enjoyed the film what i knew what was going on the whole time was distracting and took away a lot of the enjoyment i felt i could have had.
For normal this movie...seems boring For Dark...it's what they need. This movie is totally metaphorical... ADVICE:- If u r going to watch this movie....See through the perspective of Old Man(JAKE)... Go and watch this...DEEP MIND movie....🧐🧐🧐
When I saw the movie I was feeling paranoid and like someone was watching me. I think that’s the scary aspect, the movie starts to tell you that something bad is happening since the beginning. And then when the climax came I just felt like I was dreaming, and then it left me shocked for the entire day. Definetely an experience that everyone should experiment
@@S7Vmv Thank you so much for clarifying that for me, obviously I couldn't find this explanation with my low IQ (there's a vicious cycle for you!). I am amazed they let me on youtube at all! Well, I can't do anything about it now, but I really appreciate you for improving the average! Stay safe!
@@S7Vmv lol the movie was pretentious and completely missed the point of the book. It was like watching the director tell us to tell him how clever he was. But sure, low IQ. Rock on.
@@danielely3807 hahaha this made me legit cackle! Eh, I managed to make it to the end but it was a painful endeavor. The book and movie are entirely different animals and I think the director's "artists liberties" made the movie feel ddisjointed. How anyone can consider this a horror movie... 🤔🤷🏼♀️
as someone who didn't read the book i thought it was a deconstruction of the "manic pixie dream girl" trope from the woman's perspective. The movie is what happens after the credits in a romance movie where the guy gets the girl yet she is unfulfilled, she can't break up with him because she cannot exist without him. Throughout the movie she talks about how she doesn't want to be with Jake anymore and knows it won't last but she never gets to break up with him. She has tons of hobbies and is very smart yet is not given a name and is settling for a guy who is awkward and bland. She is also incredibly out of place in the movie as the world changes yet she stays the same. I saw the scene of the photo changing from her to him and their similar interests as "she exists for him" rather than "they are the same person". The way she gradually became more and more angry about her dislike towards him made it feel like they were forced together for his sake rather than her's. The dance at the end would show the contrast of their perfect relationship with the bleak reality of not being attracted to who you're with. I know that this isn't the intended meaning of the movie and I understand how Jake's death plays into it, just thought I'd share :)
I really didn't understand the conversation Lucy had whit her self when she was left in the car. What did she mean about all saying yes, always giving my number, he is not bad he doesn't beat you, the sex is good sometimes...
HOW DO YOU? 'not' see a straight film about long term animal abuse? Just look at the direction of those foot marks on the basement door frame, that is not the dog jumping up. The only clear sign of a physical struggle in the movie apart from the barn and noone acknowledges it. You need to watch Earthlings 2005 with Joaquin Phoenix. This film is on par with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which you kids review quite happily because it's people dying and not disposable animals for which crimes rarely matter.
Hey Friends, I've been really sick this week so I filmed, edited and uploaded this video a little late. It worked out to be the perfect time to be able to watch the movie and listen to the book. I am going to skip Monday's upload and rest tomorrow, then I'll be back on track for regular uploads. Thanks for sticking with me!
spookyastronauts feel better soon Emma 💐
Get well soon, Emma!
I hope you're feeling better soon! Me, my fiance and 3 and 13 year old got really sick about 8 days ago, we got tested for covid and thank god it came back negative 😅 Anyhow, thank you for taking the time out to film, edit, share and have this discussion with us even though you're not feeling well... just know WE ALL APPRECIATE YOU
Sending healing vibes your way!!!
Stay Spooky and Get Well Soon
🖤🖤🖤
The fact that his fantasies are like him being a painter or a writer or studying quantum physics or dating a girl he saw in a bar but in a reality (as an oldman) he ends up being a janitor. That's very sad and lonely and tragic.
yeah once i understood the story a lil more i realized how sad and kinda relatable the story actually is. i think the thing to take away from this film is dont let dreams, desires, and opportunities pass you by or you'll end up at the end of your line thinking about what could've been. pretty simple really
F*ck that’s depressing. I had the book in my wishlist on Audible for a while but took it out once I saw so many reviews saying that it just ends without an ending or explanation for the odd things that occur throughout the book. Then I saw the movie and was so confused so I listened to the book which I just finished today and still was confused. Your comment made it all come together for me and, man, that’s dark.
Wasn't him a quantum physics in the book? Before he gave everything up and became a janitor? I'm not sure but I remember something like this
thifanny Yes, I’m pretty sure you’re right. I do remember it being discussed in the book by the investigators or whoever was talking about the suicide.
thifanny yes in the book he actually was a physicist once but could not deal with the work environment (likely due to social anxiety) and quit to be a janitor
The scene where Toni Collette's character was repeating a word "genus" as "genius, genius, genius" and the son yells "genus" then Toni Collette's face changed like she was gonna cry or something. I found that unsettling and kinda sad.
Yeah, me too. I was like "You monster! let her be!". Then I understood that he was kinda making her responsible for what he ended up to be. His mother insisted in the fact that Jack never stood out in anything but he always tried his best. That was also really sad. There's also that part where the mother says something like "Take some risks!" referring to the girlfriend going to the basement. I guess that means that, at some point, Jake's mother pressured him in to changing his life before it was too late.
I don’t think Kaufman intended to direct an exact adaptation of the book - he used it to explore other ideas, like time, the fear of aging and death, or how we are the products of the art we consume. I do love how the film and the book are different because the approches and intents were not the same.
Exactly. I feel the same
And I'm glad. I'd rather have someone create something new then just make a movie version of the book
It throws things off when the voice over is so directly taken from the book. I think I would have rather seen a unique story with this take rather than taking from the original story.
The film to me was like a panic attack. you’re scared, confused, think you’re going crazy, and afraid you’re gonna die in this very moment.
Agreed! So much dread!
interesting take
More like a strange weed trip.
I said the same thing watching it! It made me very uncomfortable and anxious. Which I’m guessing was the intent.
Weird, I felt anxious during it too!
I'm gonna be honest I didnt understand it even slightly
As a lonely boy, I grasped it because I could relate but still had many questions.
Me too. I enjoyed the experience of watching the movie, and I enjoyed the performances immensely, but I never really figured out the very basic conceit of the movie. I watched one of those "explained" videos here on TH-cam, and quite honestly felt like a dolt. The twist really was pretty obvious, with plenty of clues, but I just rolled with the experience instead of trying to understand anything, so the lightbulb never went on over my head.
I like the movie because it's well made and acted, but I'm absolutely confused at some parts of the movie. It's unfortunate that we need to read the book to understand the meaning.
The girlfriend didn’t even exist.
i think that's the whole point, it's from the point of view of a deeply depressed and mentally ill person and i don't think we can fully grasp their understanding of life unless we know a mentally ill person or we are depressed ourselves. we're not meant to understand them on a surface level that's why we need to dig deep into their world and how their minds works for us to REALLY understand them. but that's just my opinion :)
I felt a hole in my soul as soon as i finish the movie, now that i have a bigger understanding of it, the hole just grew more
Welcome to life
For me this film was a perfect 10/10 until we get to the interpretive dance and beyond. It felt like it was trying to be too surreal for surrealism sake. Your explanation certainly cleared the ending up for me.
i loved the movie until they left the parents house
If you watch Oklahoma you would better understand the dance scene. There is a ballet scene with doubles actors as in the film. It wasn’t just a Kaufman invention. I understand that it could take you out of the movie but there are many references that would be missed and may seem out of place if the viewer is not familiar with the source material being referenced.
@@brianzybala9671 I’d say a basic understanding of Oklahoma is crucial - as a die hard fan of Kaufman. Before I did some research I felt the same way. But. Once I understood what was happening, especially the knife fight between Curly and Jud but with the subverted ending, I was beyond freaking wow’d.
I suffer from maladaptive day dreaming and this movie really resonated with me, it was almost painful to watch. I need to listen to the audiobook now! :)
What is that like?
Me too!! I guess maladaptive daydreaming isn’t that common so that’s why not many people have brung it up. I resonate with bits of the movie as well.
That’s cool to know someone else out there deals with it too. It’s a confusing thing to cope with, hang in there. Yeah, I don’t think a lot is know about it, so it’s not really talked about.
Me too! It was a bit painful to watch because I’m always in my own head!
I knew nothing about this film and got so sucked in. The first half filled me with dread not knowing what was happening, and the second made me sad for Jake. But man, can we talk about how creepy the dog scenes were?! The dog shaking and not stopping creeped me out so much 😂 it was one of the points where I realized nothing happening in that house was real. And I had also forgotten Toni Colette was in it so when she came down the stairs I was like YESSS I'm in for a treat now.
Ikrr omg the dog thing made me cringe
The hint is always be weary of trip to families farm house
haha!
😂
Was the ageing of the parents old Jake changing his story because he can’t decide if he wants them to be young or old when meeting Lucy?
- SPOILERS FOR ANYONE READING THE COMMENTS WHO HASNT SEEN THE MOVIE -
no, it’s just jake replaying the different memories he has of his parents, or memories of how they would behave. it’s similar to how he only remembers his dog shaking - the dog stays stuck in that moment he remembers. he remembers his parents in certain moments, which happen to range from when they were young to when they were dying. he does, however, fantasize about the young woman praising him for taking care of his mother when she had to be fed. BUT your assumption definitely comes from a place of understanding that throughout the film, yes, jake does change out certain details (the young woman’s name, the story of how they met, the young woman’s clothes, etc) to see if any of his fantasies would play out the way he wanted them to.
Who cares? I think the scenes were way too vague to the point where any explanation can be correct. Your version might be correct, mine might also be correct which leads me to think: Who cares, if it's that open for interpretation then it's really not saying anything. Sorry for the rant, just venting.
The movie is not really vague at all. I suffer from chronic depression and anxiety to the point where I dont have meaningful relationships anymore, and everything in this movie was incredibly, and literally painfully obvious to me. I guess if you dont sufferfrom those things you might think its ambiguous, but its not. Its sad. But accurate in what its depiction of having a chronic mental disorder can feel like. To prefer your fantasy of what might have been, much more than the lonely reality you find yourself in. I kinda felt like the theme was written in neon spray paint.
You hit the nail on the head with this review. I told my husband, “if I hadn’t have read the book first, I wouldn’t have known what the hell I had just watched”. I also think that sick feeling of dread was missing from the movie. As I read the book, I was overwhelmed with a sense of unease, particularly when she went into the basement with the backstory of the questionable brother. It felt so dark...the movie just felt confusing and it lost that unsettling aspect! I enjoyed the movie for what it was but it definitely took from the horror aspects of the book I think.
Thanks Alli, I was very confused. But it was still beautiful to watch
I definitely felt that sense of dread, having not read the book. It was so bleak and melancholy, but there was always this ominous undertone.
I never read the book and while watching the film I had that sick feeling of dread, especially when she went downstairs. Do you think the reason why you didn't feel that was because of your familiarity with the source material?
fredguy2 it very well could be the case! I sort of had the book on a pedestal and loved it so much that perhaps I felt disappointed in comparison!
@@allixbbyx Totally understandable. That's almost always the case for me too, if I read the book before seeing the movie.
At first I thought she had been drugged, or was bitten by something, due to the rabies discussion in the car, as well as the ice cream girl having scabs all over her. At first I thought the memories were from the perspective of the unnamed woman, who had dementia (as people with dementia can fill in gaps in memory with false moments/memories), and the events at the house were of the times she visited her boyfriend’s parents at different stages of life, but all compiled into one “memory/event.”
By the end I understood what was going on though. My first inclination something wasn’t right was when we saw Jake put the thermos away (that he never brought with him), which was the same one as the Janitor took to work with him. But I was still questioning “what” exactly was going on
I read the book first, and so I had the opposite feeling. I didn't understand what was going on in the book until the end. In the movie, I felt like it was really obvious early on.
Because you knew the story.
@@lucasaugusto36 Right!
Great review(s).
The film really lost me after they leave the farmhouse.
I knew, cos this is Kaufman, that I wasn't gonna get a neat beginning, middle and end but the last third to me, definitely dipped into pretentious territory. It felt like it was striving too hard to be analysed - is it about this, or this, ah no, it's about this whilst at the same time, it was kind of about nothing. I'm don't want to my hand held through films but this felt intentionally impenetrable and ultimately a little hollow. I really enjoyed the opening car journey and farmhouse scenes too.
I thought this film was about 30 minutes too long. I love slow burn movies that take you in a journey, but this movie had me grinding my teeth with impatience. I also loved the book, but the book is very short, it doesn’t linger, and it delivers its story with precision. The film version would have benefited from that same precision. Because so much of the story takes place in a car with two people having a conversation, I feel like they should have streamlined those scenes. They also replaced her bizarre story about an encounter with an older man as a child with one of the most depressing poems in existence. I did like what they did with the parents, however. I thought they made what was going a little more clear than in the book, but you were still left confused.
I was so mad when I finished this movie, like I wasted 2 hours of my life. I was invested at the beginning, intrigued at the weirdness of the family. And then... nothing!
This was honestly the first time that a movie made me feel like I as an idiot for not understanding what was going on. The fact that she never addresses the phone calls really threw me off too.
One of my favorite parts that I don't remember was in the book was the use of films and media. They talk about movies and Jake acts out scenes from the movie he sees. I loved that part.
I think as a person who hasn’t read the book this movie makes no sense. Now that I know what it all means I think it had a lot of potential, and if the twist was explained it would be great. I also hadn’t seen Oklahoma so that was soo confusing
The movie just reveals it's hand way too early in my opinion, I just stopped analysing and speculating about the movie after the first third and started thinking to myself "can we just get to the damn ending already?". That's how I felt about it.
I hadn’t read the book at all, and I feel I was able to pick up on a lot of these things, even on just a first watch. I absolutely love that the twist wasn’t explained, because I like being able to figure things out for myself, and I feel I haven’t figured out everything within the movie yet (I’ve seen it twice now), but I don’t see that as a detriment at all.
I haven’t read the book but the movie does make sense to me. Then again I’m a Charlie Kaufman fan and kinda know what to expect with his movies at this point
I thought it was about suicide the whole time lol. Also why do you think she has different coloured clothes throughout the film? (orange pink yellow blue) and why were their scratches on the door? And why is he so weird around his family? It came off like it was abusive or something.
She has different clothing/names/glasses because Jake has made her up and that is his delusion slipping. When you day dream or dream, things arent consistant, this was supposed to represent that.
It basically is about suicide. Jake is the old janitor fantasizing about what his life couldve been, the "im thinking of ending things" line is metaphorical. Since its all in his head and the girl technically IS him, when coming from her perspective it seems like shes talking about the relationship. In reality though, its Jake talking about ending his own life. The scratched door lead to the basement, where the "truth" lives. Thats why she finds the janitor uniforms and the paintings and poems she thought were hers down there. Thats why Jake didnt want her there..its meant to represent Jakes consciousness. Lastly, he was weird around his family because Jake is socially awkward, part of the reason he never found love and was so shut in. The book made it all way more clear tbh
Same here. As soon as I saw the title of the movie (I had no idea there was a book and I never read the synopsis or anything) I immediately thought suicide and that’s all I thought throughout the movie
As the others above have said, its about the janitor's imagined girlfriend. He spends the whole movie switching between different scenarios. One second she's a painter, the next she's a physicist, because she is just a personification of his regrets in life. A human "what if..." if you will
I think Kauffman is a better writer than director. It feels like he made the movie for himself and not the audience. Having said that I enjoy the most of the movie albeit completely confused at some parts.
You know what you are right. Kaufman does makes movies for himself. Sometimes they can be really endearing like Being John malkovich or The Adaption or ESOSM or sometimes they can be really confusing and self-indulgent like Synecdoche, New York or this.
Seems like Kaufman needs other directors to make his story more palpable to the audience.
@@deepakjetly1717 Absolutely.... Those movies he didn't direct were masterpieces. I do like all the movies Kaufman directed but it could have been amazing if he let Spike Jonze at the helm.
Absolutely correct. I thought this myself when the film ended. He needed a director with discipline, and an appreciation of the audience's needs. The ending of the story felt wilfully, almost obstinately obscure. It felt like Kaufman was contemptuous of the idea that it should be clear to the audience what the story is about. I feel Kaufman is actually generally contemptuous of the audience. Another director would temper this contempt, as it did with Eternal Sunshine, or Adaptation.
A project will always be more satisfying if it is made for the director than if it is simply made for an audience
@@clanofclams2720 I think if you said 'always', it's not always the case. A combination of the two are probably better.
I thought the whole movie was her story(like it’s presented) but that she had schizophrenia and it was more of a shutter island type thing.
So glad you're feeling better. ♥️ I liked the movie, but I'm not yet ready to rate it on letterboxd.
Thanks for breaking down the differences between the book and the movie. ♥️
Yeah I haven’t rated it yet either!!! 🤪
Oh thank god. I was desperately waiting for you to make this video. I felt so stupid for not entirely understanding this movie...
I still really liked this movie, but my husband and I figured it all out in about 10 minutes. I figured out who the janitor was the second he was on screen. Having seen other films by Charlie and watching/reading a lot of stuff with similar themes made it so I wasn't really watching this blindly and I couldn't be super surprised. I want to read the book since it seems to be getting a lot of praise, and might give me something to be surprised by. Good job explaining everything. :)
Holy shit lol I'm a new sub and I literally just had the thought "I' hope she reviews I'm Thinking of Ending Things" and boom like an hour later you put this up! Thanks a bunch haha
great minds!
I love what Kaufman did so much with this film. I'm one of the seldom few who really disliked the book. I found the twist to be cheap horror, a "oooh it was actually a suicidal mentally ill man the whole time" gotcha moment that left a bad taste in my mouth. But I thought the movie really elevated the source material and made me really feel the horror of the mind, the horror of getting older and of being alone, in a way that the book didn't get across as successfully for me. Really really loved the film, best of 2020 so far for me for sure!
It's very interesting as I thought the completely opposite. I actually found myself disliking the movie because the trailers advertised it as a thriller and I found no thriller elements whatsoever, it also felt excruciatingly long in my opinion.
Yes the reveal in the book wasn't the most creative but it worked for me, it kept me creeped out and engaged until the very last page. I'd also argue that the structure of the book also works as an audiobook (it won a prize I believe), which sort of reinforces my thoughts that he did not need to change the story this much, especially since it was very likely that people who hadn't read the book would see it. I doubt I would have gotten the point of the story without having read the book.
To me the need to make the film very Kauffman-esque took away from the atmosphere that the book created.
Just my opinion but it was interesting to read someone thought the exact opposite :)
I can't believe I never knew this channel for the longest time! I've only recently came across it, and I've been on a huuge binging spree ever since!! I love horror and her content is always so good,
I love these videos and hope Emma's channel grows and grows because she deserves more recognition because she works so hard!
Thank you so much Imaan!
Yeah this channel is awesome
Another clue is that Jake's daydream includes a scene from the movie the old janitor is watching about the burgers. And in the car they talk about how movies influence you and change your perspective
The way they met also changed to the scene from the movie cause he says they met at a diner while he ordered the santa fe burger the same as the movie the janitor was watching
@@-.-u.uwe.o yeah that was the thing I was talking about lol
Never clicked faster on a video watched this on netflix yesterday and was looking for an ending explanation as I enjoyed it but was definitely confused 😂 and from my favourite youtuber :)
thank you so much Sophia!
@@spookyastronauts no problem :)
@foundflix also has one💚
@@alisiajones6981 thankyou I will check it out :)
I'm curious if you're familiar with Charlie Kaufman's work, specifically his other adaptations. He's always played fast and loose with how he adapts a book into a film and I read an article before the book came out where a cast member said they only kept about 25% of the book's dialogue. I personally really enjoyed the film, but I understand that having read the book and having certain expectations of Kaufman as a filmmaker would probably help soften the weirder aspects of the film's artistic choices. I really loved the changes they made to the ending, it felt much more sympathetic to Jake as a character. In the book, he terrified me because we constantly seeing his actions from people outside looking in, whether it's the young woman narrating or the the police who find him. I found it difficult to understand his motivations and why he'd resort to living in this universe in his head. I'd watch youtube analysis, but everyone seemed to have a different take on what it all meant. Seeing Jake as the janitor wrestling with his day dreams turned delusions and accomplishing everything he ever wanted, but never could helped me understand him as a character. In this version, he's disappointed and angry at himself for not accomplishing everything he wanted to do like create art or study quantum physics. He's disrespected by the kids at the school he works for, which is undercut with the line he says while caring for his mother "it feels like no one sees the good things you do." I like they made Jake more sympathetic. I think Kaufman was the perfect person to adapt this book. His specific style captured the unease and dreamlike atmosphere the book portrayed.
Am I SERIOUSLY The Only One Who Thinks This Guy Was A Serial Killer?
I was thinking that the whole movie but the ending just kinda squashed that thought. Like she said, I think the really long family dinner distracted from what we were supposed to understand. Although, the whole sequence at the house was my favorite part of the movie.
If you read the book you realize that’s not true. The movie was just much more vague. It’s not completely abstract, there is a correct interpretation, but the movie doesn’t capture that completely
@@Ollie7707 Okay... Cool... That Makes Sense, Thanks Chica!!
I read the book before watching the movie and even after watching the movie, I still think he killed at least one woman.
@@gashinleedawson4131 YASSSS!! Exactly!!!
Such an amazing film. Favourite of the year so far. Excellent vid!
*long sigh* I don't care if I'm in the minority - I couldn't stand this movie. Kaufman is the poster child for a rare condition known as pretentious-head-up-own-ass-itis.
I knew better than to expect something more than what Kaufman has revealed himself to be. Still, I went into this hoping that he'd find a way to write something closer to the masterpiece that is Eternal Sunshine.
That didn't happen.
As far as I'm concerned, Kaufman went off the deep end with Synecdoche into a far off obnoxious land of bewildering cinematic drivel and hasn't been seen since.
I actually found the book a little pretentious and meandering, too. 3/4ths of it was characters having pretty dull “look at me, I’m painfully intelligent” conversations. The film seemed to reflect this and everything outside the creepy scenes at the farmhouse turned me off. I guessed the twist of the book early on and kept hoping that it would go somewhere different but it didn’t... to me, it almost felt as cheap as an “and it was all a dream...” ending. There were so many things that weren’t ever addressed. Idk I didn’t vibe with book nor movie.
I'm in the minority too with ya. I hated the movie and have no desire to read the book after having looked up an explanation as to what the hell I has just watched 😂
Kaufman is a great writer but not so at directing. Directors like Spike Jonze could make this movie great (just like Enternal Sunshine).
@@serenacelestine I feel the same way. The book seemed to be like 30% trashy philosophy.
I strongly suggest people read the book first..the book is better anyways imo. The reveal was a shock in the book to me
true ture
Same. I read the book earlier this year and I was excited for this movie when they announced it. I was really disappointed lol
@@caently6150 high expectations for me....then I'm like wtf.....people definitely need to read the book
the book makes more sense to me, the message is easier to pick up. i think that if they had stuck closer to the source the movie wouldve been alot less confusing.
@@YoungYahtz94 yeah, the book definitely conveys the message a lot better even if you don't get it at first (i didn't, had to reread the last few chapters lol). i really like how the movie kept the changing details and disorienting aspects, but totally changing the ending really blew the story that the novel was trying to tell in the first place
I read the book years ago and it was legitimately scary, I was so excited for the film and unfortunately was so disappointed. I actually hated the choices he made, and I think he completely ruined the ending. He made it unnecessarily inaccessible to most people, and lost all of the sinister and frightening aspects.
Your summary of the movie at the beginning of this video sounds SO MUCH MORE interesting than the actual film...which says a lot.
I was excited about this film for quite a while, but ended up feeling deeply disappointed. I feel like a piece of art should be enjoyable without thorough research on some very specific references. I get that this film is more of a love letter to the book, but I hate needing to have the film explained to me in some forms. It feels entirely like being in the same room with a group of people who are sharing inside jokes that I was never a part of - it's just absolutely confusing and so uncomfortable.
Toni Collette is absolutely INCREDIBLE!
Emma! I just finished the film and was left feeling so cold, but your explanation/comparison has totally nailed why certain things fell flat. The book sounds so compelling and I think the film absolutely tries to hard to throw you off its scent, to the point of the ending actually feeling undeserved (to me at least). I can always trust you to have something interesting to say about any film. Thank u!
Leaving a like, but can't watch the whole video until I see the movie and ideally read the book
good choice! thanks for stopping by anyway!
Same, thanks for letting us know to pause at 2:30. Now I know it’s worth watching
@@spookyastronauts I'm sort of in the minority . I thought the book was interesting but only okay, and I didn't really like to film it all. I do like it a bit more having watched your video all the way through. Thank you for the explanations. I needed them.
I absolutely love this film. Such a uniquely surreal approach to storytelling.
I adored this film! And I wasn’t gonna read the book but I definitely going to now after hearing it’s quite different. I loved the films VERY ambiguous ending but I know that not many will 😂
You’ll enjoy the book for different reasons!
spookyastronauts excited 🎉
I never read the book and watched the movie, Spoilers warning to not read the rest of my comment.
I honestly thought it was a metaphor for Alzheimer's, Jake's dad had it in the film and it seemed like a clue like it was genetic. So I thought it was the janitor trying to remember this person he dated, but kept messing up on the name. His memories being interwoven with different points of his life. And the young women is kind of like the one who got away. The main things that threw me off were the ice cream shop, which I chalked up to be his fear of his high school life. And the whole ending sequence with the dance and weird fight sequence getting stabbed by the janitor. That one was hard to explain, because the janitor is killing his past self for the young women, which I kind of thought made sense because he wants what he had back then.
Either way it is a trippy movie, that really made me pay attention to every detail in each scene to try to figure the movie out.
I really do love those weird movies that make you think in a different way but I do believe I have to read the book because the movie was a big no for me.
It was musings of a perspective that I'm just not intrested in, ah well.
Now I really wish I had read the book first. I'm not sure if I can do it now. This movie felt like it went a long way to get to an ending that didn't make any sense. The acting and visual style was amazing, but at the end I felt like I'd wasted my time because it just didn't make sense. This helps me understand better what was going on.
I enjoyed the movie, but I would've loved it even more if I hadn't read the book first, cause they're completely different...
The movie was more drama, and the book definitely more psychological thriller. I could see the clues at the beginning of the movie, like when he was mopping the floors and listening the theatre club performing, and Jake and "Lucy" hearing the same song in the car, was the earliest giveaway. Or when the mother mentioned something about his 50th birthday.
I was also so excited to watch The Dream Ballet and all the Oklahoma references cause I'm an avid Broadway and I was delighted by that.
Again, Charlie Kaufman did it. I think it's another piece that you have to go back a few times, if you want to get the most out of it, if you aren't much of a book reader.
The book got to me in ways I never thought it would, probably because I'm clinically depressed and also have anxiety, I've been there, and I can see the book being a game of dissociation, where you daydream your life away in hopes to be saved from this darkness in your mind.
Thanks for your review and hope you getter better soon enough💚
Thank you for sharing all of this, I did think the movie was really beautiful. In a way I like them equally for different reasons
It's nice to see you're feeling better Emma. Being sick sucks. Of course you're allowed to take a couple days off if you're not feeling well your health always comes first.
Thanks 😊
I got to admit that when I read the book back in March at the ending I was like WHAT IT¨S GOING ON? Cause my fisrt language is not english so I was thinking maybe I am having troubles understanding this cause I don´t get it , especially in the part where the pages only say WHAT ARE YOU WATING FOR? , so it took me a while to understand the ending and then I was obssesed with the idea that Jake talks about that reality only happens once, a story is just a version of the reality and not quite accurate from what really happened, so I was so exited of watching the film cause I wanted to see how they´ll make the plot twist, but the movie I dont know I think it tries to make the viewer to think a lot, a did like it, did not enjoyed it as I was hoping to honestly especially cause the end it feel different not a straigh forward ending as in the book.
Just read the book last night and man... was I supposed to dislike both main characters with a passion? 😆 the ending was a welcome creepfest though!
Edit: just watched the movie. Um, issa "no" for me dawg. It feels pretentious and self-congratulatory, if that makes sense?
*SPOILERS*
I hadn't read the book but I did understand that it was the janitor killing himself and imaging his life from first watching. BUT I'm also a bit of a music theatre nerd and found that high school production segment to be the funniest thing ever.
i really feel like having not read the book would have helped me enjoy the movie more. the book was more shocking and also more defined.:
I kind of agree. I would have loved so much to see a lot of the shocking stuff in the book onscreen. The book had me on the edge of my seat my entire time, the film just had me shrugging and saying "Oh, that's interesting".
Not gonna lie, I had no fucking clue that she ended up being Jake in the end, even with captions calling her young woman. I knew I liked it, but I thought it was a time loop with her stuck in an abusive relationship. But yeah, this makes more sense now 🤣
*spoilers*
I went full Predestination with the idea that for much of the movie I thought that Jake was born a woman and we were witnessing the union before and after the transition. I really liked the movie.
Anyone else reading the title I’m think of ending things, and immediately thinking about suicide? I went into watching this film with this premise of someone planning their suicide and then incidentally also wanting to break up. I didn’t realise we were only supposed to think that she was going to end the relationship and nothing else....
I didn't realize this film was so difficult for people to understand
I haven’t read the book, so I knew that Jake and the janitor were the same person about a third of a way through the movie and I honestly kinda thought that it was commentary on toxic relationships and mental illness
The speech at the end of the movie also from the movie A Beautiful Mind. Enjoyed the subtle lampooning of how Hollywood manipulates expectations of life and love. Great video, subscribed.
Fantastic comparison of the book to movie . The movie was very intriguing for the first 80 minutes , great acting and mysterious . Your explaination of the events made sense of the unanswered questions from the movie’s finale . Thanks for the informative video .
The camera angles made me uneasy and Toni Collette was awesome in the role, especially with the facial expressions when describing her "tinnitus." I was frustrated for the woman because she wanted to get home and there were so many sidetracks; it was dreamlike. I won't do any spoilers but the ending was thought-provoking.
I respectfully disagree with your take on the movie.
I think the fact that the reveal is hidden behind surreal imagery, using its visual media to its fullest and referencing things unique to said medium as a strength rather than a weakness in comparison to the book. The movie asks the audience to engage with it through multiple viewings (and maybe research) to take your own interpretation out of it beyond "what it's supposed to mean".
I don't think spoonfeeding the ending to the audience would have made the movie stronger, in fact I am of the opinion it would have made it forgettable at best.
She is fundamentally forgetting that film is a different medium altogether and it's symbols and images and "hidden messages" are the equivalent of words in a book
@@nicholasmichalfaul946 Exactly. It doesn't really "help" that the film does not hold your hand and expects something from the audience aswell. This is sort of meant to be watched multiple times and studied, not just enjoyed like a popcorn flick. I feel like she expected a character to sit the audience down and carefully explain everything.
I liked the book more, although I was pissed at the ending.
Your explanation was awesome!
Never needed a video more. Thanks Emma!
Great film...best of 2020 so far to me.❤❤❤❤
So glad you loved it
@@spookyastronauts your videos are too good..take care..get well soon
after the movie ended, i was so angry that i wasted so much time on it. but after watching this and another analysis, i have a much bigger appreciation for it.
Best review out of the 6 I’ve watched. Good job 👍 David Thewlis was also my favorite part. Question: did Jake kill his parents? I haven’t read the book but I hear there was a big reveal concerning his notebook towards the end.
Nope. He just was heavily depressed and his parents were concerned about him
@@wyattjohnson3714 Oh, thanks. I can’t help the feeling of wanting more out of this story.
This, all has been a dream movie is just poor. Such a shame, such a waste of time.
I saw that coming 30 minutes into the movie and I can't describe the amount of disappointment that I felt. I kept watching hoping that I might be wrong but it only got worse.
I watched this movie without even knowing what it would be about, thinking it sounded like romance and drama. As soon as they arrived to their destination though, I thought it might be something different. From then on I was sure it would be somehow about dementia (the parents house, her picture on the wall- i was wondering if she was a family member suffering of it and telling a story. Maybe someone telling a story to a therapist.) and there were a few times dementia was brought up during the movie.. Or a horror movie about some girl being drugged and kidnapped, memory wiped somehow, piecing the picture together. 🤦♀️ It was a lot of fun to watch without knowing ANYTHING, so I would recommend doing that, I dont regret it at all, even though it was hella confusing. 😄
I honestly thought that the movie ending was more gentle, a little less brutal though always extremely heartbreaking.
The parents' section of the movie didn't really distract me, and I thought it was really appropriate. In the peculiar moment that Jake is facing, is pretty obvious to think about the people and the moments that somehow left a mark on his path the most.
Both the book and the movie anyway are staying with me A LOT. It's hard not to think about the importance of our choices and how quickly we can find ourselves on a road we didn't really want to take.
Definitely one of the most unique psychological thrillers I’ve seen in awhile. Very odd. Glad the book puts more substance to it.
I just didn’t care for this one. I read the book as well and didn’t care for it either. I can see why some like it but this one just wasn’t for me.
Same same saaaaaame. I read it, listened to the audiobook and then watched the movie, all in about 2 days because I really wanted to give it a fair shake. Did not like the characters nor the story though the book at least gave us some dread towards the end. I guess I can give it that? 🤷🏼♀️
I had no idea what was going on in the movie then I listened to the audiobook and it only clicked that it was all Jake’s daydreams once I watches this vid🤣
Thanks for explaining this wacky movie. I was expecting something totally different, and it delivered. Toni Collette and David Thewlis made it all worthwhile. Without those (2) performances, this film would have been a complete waste of time. Hope you are feeling better.
Hi Emma great review hope you are feeling better will give the movie a watch and also check out The Owners.
I have :)
Why does jake get so mad at small things? And what was with jakes reaction to his old self "peeking" (in the car at the school)
Also the truck starting up after the credits....
there was a post-credit scene???
@@lisav.d.2196
Yea. Go check it out.
I dont think charlie kauffman just forgot clues or something, i think he just wanted to go in a different direction
No I don’t think he forgot either, he just changed aspects and this is me discussing that and the differences. Still loved the film!
I read this book a couple months ago and I fell in love with it! It sucked me right in and the ending was mind boggling. I just finished watching the movie and ... I did not like it. I feel like if I hadn’t read the book before seeing the movie I would have no clue what the ending meant and would be very confused! So I definitely agree with you that you NEED to read the book first before the movie! I feel like there should be a warning before the movie starts saying that ... it makes the movie more enjoyable and provides a different experience.
I also compared the book and the movie! whythebookwins.com/im-thinking-of-ending-things-book-vs-movie/
I actually think their endings are the same, even though it shows it differently. but yeah having read the book makes the movie much less confusing
BEST EXPLANATION EVER
There’s been an influx of Ending explained videos and in this case it is justified, because a couple of major movies have needed them.
i think the movie was better than the book. the book really felt like an ‘it was all a dream’ moment to me bc literally the first thing i thought when i saw the cover of the book ended up being the twist. maybe it’s because i actually suffer from delusions and such so i notice these things better but it was incredibly disappointing to me because the book is a really enjoyable read, but the end feels like it was rushed in the way it ties things together. the movie however gave less away by not cutting to the two people in the highschool talking about the ‘incident’ with the janitor (which i think gave too many clues and should’ve been more subtle) and using surrealism to really build on the themes the book started. anyway ian reid’s second book ‘foe’ is far superior in my opinion
hey @spookyastronauts
I've just watched the movie (first 3rd) and drifted to get a reveal and boom - you. I've subscribed and hit the bell icon -- I'm requesting you to kindly share your review/(EndingExplained) on the 2010 Christopher Nolan's movie "Inception.
humbly looking forward
great review, keep it up 👍🏽
I could not agree with you more about reading the book first. I really really wish I had done that. The moment the film ended I downloaded the book and I can't wait to watch it again when I'm done
Yeah it has a very different feel too! The movie is more of a companion piece
i really have to find the book 😞✊
Yep! It’s for the best!
hellooo emma! i read the book first and really liked it, watched the movie yesterday but wasn't a fan of the ending tbh :(
hope you feel better soon!
The movie takes on its own path due to the vision of the creator. I liked your video very much but I do not agree with your statement of the second act being so distracting. In the house there are so many clues that dive deep into the mind of Jake. His room shows all the things he was interested in, with which he created the ideal girl he wanted. He also seems to have had a dysfunctional relationship with his parents wanting recognition never really getting it; shown with his frustration during the conversations through the seens, and it seems to show he stayed home to take care of his parents till they died never really going out to pursue a life of his own. It shows past passions never realized like the art in the basement and so many more represented as clues in the room. All in all liked your video.
Thanks for this!! After watching this movie I definitely needed an explanation of what they hell happened there lol
I just found your channel, and I'm blown away you haven't done a video on Salo 120 Days yet 😳
Haha I just can’t... I’ve tried to several times. And yes I’ve seen the film
@@spookyastronauts I don't know what this says about me, but I truly enjoyed the movie.
99% of movies always have the good guys win at the end. Films like Salo (as over the top it was) is closer to reality, where evil people*do not* get punished for their ways on this earth.
Great channel btw 😉
As a horror fan (I've seen over a thousand of them), a rare good one from the 1977 which involves zombie nazi is Shock Waves, starring Peter Cushing and Brooke Adams. There is a copy available for free on youtube.
This movie and 2008`s Synecdoche New York is why Charlie Kaufman is my favourite screenwriter (director) the abstract approach to existential horror and coping with it making some of the best works ever made on cinema
personally i think people should watch it first and read second. i read first and watched second and while i really enjoyed the film what i knew what was going on the whole time was distracting and took away a lot of the enjoyment i felt i could have had.
For normal this movie...seems boring
For Dark...it's what they need.
This movie is totally metaphorical...
ADVICE:- If u r going to watch this movie....See through the perspective of Old Man(JAKE)...
Go and watch this...DEEP MIND movie....🧐🧐🧐
0:30... OMG, I love that girl... she was in another cool movie I saw recently, "Beast"... And feel better Ems !
i thought that the film was about dementia and that’s why it freaked me out so much (i’m writing this before watching the video)
When I saw the movie I was feeling paranoid and like someone was watching me. I think that’s the scary aspect, the movie starts to tell you that something bad is happening since the beginning. And then when the climax came I just felt like I was dreaming, and then it left me shocked for the entire day. Definetely an experience that everyone should experiment
I couldn't sit through more than half of this movie... I lost interest and couldn't care less...
Aww damn
@@S7Vmv Thank you so much for clarifying that for me, obviously I couldn't find this explanation with my low IQ (there's a vicious cycle for you!). I am amazed they let me on youtube at all! Well, I can't do anything about it now, but I really appreciate you for improving the average! Stay safe!
@@S7Vmv lol the movie was pretentious and completely missed the point of the book. It was like watching the director tell us to tell him how clever he was. But sure, low IQ. Rock on.
High IQ
@@danielely3807 hahaha this made me legit cackle!
Eh, I managed to make it to the end but it was a painful endeavor. The book and movie are entirely different animals and I think the director's "artists liberties" made the movie feel ddisjointed. How anyone can consider this a horror movie... 🤔🤷🏼♀️
as someone who didn't read the book i thought it was a deconstruction of the "manic pixie dream girl" trope from the woman's perspective. The movie is what happens after the credits in a romance movie where the guy gets the girl yet she is unfulfilled, she can't break up with him because she cannot exist without him.
Throughout the movie she talks about how she doesn't want to be with Jake anymore and knows it won't last but she never gets to break up with him. She has tons of hobbies and is very smart yet is not given a name and is settling for a guy who is awkward and bland. She is also incredibly out of place in the movie as the world changes yet she stays the same. I saw the scene of the photo changing from her to him and their similar interests as "she exists for him" rather than "they are the same person". The way she gradually became more and more angry about her dislike towards him made it feel like they were forced together for his sake rather than her's. The dance at the end would show the contrast of their perfect relationship with the bleak reality of not being attracted to who you're with.
I know that this isn't the intended meaning of the movie and I understand how Jake's death plays into it, just thought I'd share :)
I really didn't understand the conversation Lucy had whit her self when she was left in the car. What did she mean about all saying yes, always giving my number, he is not bad he doesn't beat you, the sex is good sometimes...
HOW DO YOU? 'not' see a straight film about long term animal abuse?
Just look at the direction of those foot marks on the basement door frame, that is not the dog jumping up. The only clear sign of a physical struggle in the movie apart from the barn and noone acknowledges it.
You need to watch Earthlings 2005 with Joaquin Phoenix.
This film is on par with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which you kids review quite happily because it's people dying and not disposable animals for which crimes rarely matter.