I’m Thinking of Ending Things - in the Claustrophobia of the Coronavirus
In this disaster of a year, probably the last thing anyone’s gentle psyche needs is a psychological thriller. And yet, Charlie Kaufman gave us just that. His latest film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, based on Iain Reid’s 2016 novel of the same name, was released in select theaters on August 28 before being added to Netflix on September 4, a fate that many new and upcoming movies have decided to embrace, particularly this past year as theaters have been forced to shut their doors. The chilling mood is set from the first shots of wallpaper. A quiet, grim narration precedes the physical arrival of the narrator. “I’m thinking of ending things,” the female voice mumbles. THE CAR RIDE The first glimpse of the narrator is of a curly-haired young woman in yellow gloves and a matching scarf, smiling up at a flurry of snowflakes, waving happily as she gets into her boyfriend’s car to embark on their first trip together. The destination: his parents’ home in the country. Despite a