Overview
A chilling exploration of the mind's labyrinth, where reality blurs with perception.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Mild
- surreal
- melancholic
- eerie
- quiet night
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's daring surrealism, atmosphere, and performances by Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, while acknowledging that its ambiguity and lack of clear structure can frustrate viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The young woman's perceptions, Jake's identity, and the surrounding world continually destabilize one another.
The family farm, snowstorm, basement, and interiors acquire an increasingly dreamlike and oppressive atmosphere.
The story explicitly explores regret, longing, aging, and the fragility of the human spirit through Jake and the young woman.
Characters' names, ages, relationships, and the apparent sequence of events shift without conventional explanatory transitions.
Films like I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and why
Synecdoche, New York
surreal identity crisis, layered reality, philosophical melancholy, and emotionally unstable perception
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
unreliable memory, fractured romance, existential regret, and formally inventive psychological drama
Mulholland Drive
dream logic, ambiguous identity, ominous domestic spaces, and enigmatic psychological tension
The Lighthouse
isolated winter setting, strained relationships, philosophical dread, and unsettling ambiguity
Movie Details
- Director
- Charlie Kaufman
- Release Date
- 2020-08-28
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (2299)
Cast
- Jesse Plemons
- Jessie Buckley
- Toni Collette
- David Thewlis
- Guy Boyd
- Hadley Robinson
- Gus Birney
- Abby Quinn
- Colby Minifie
- Anthony Grasso
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is I'm Thinking of Ending Things about?
- A snowbound relationship visit dissolves into a surreal meditation on loneliness, regret, identity, and the unstable architecture of memory.
- What is I'm Thinking of Ending Things like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of I'm Thinking of Ending Things as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is I'm Thinking of Ending Things violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in I'm Thinking of Ending Things as mild.
- What did critics think of I'm Thinking of Ending Things?
- Critics broadly praised the film's daring surrealism, atmosphere, and performances by Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, while acknowledging that its ambiguity and lack of clear structure can frustrate viewers.
- Which films are like I'm Thinking of Ending Things?
- Films with a similar feel include Synecdoche, New York, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Mulholland Drive, and The Lighthouse.
- How long is I'm Thinking of Ending Things?
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things runs 135 minutes.
- Where can I watch I'm Thinking of Ending Things?
- In United States, I'm Thinking of Ending Things streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
