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As people get older, there is often a feeling of wondering about what you’ve accomplished and whether it’s all you wanted. Some people feel satisfied with what they have, but many do not and never do. People may achieve specific successes in some area but may feel woefully behind in other places. Someone might become famous for creating a movie or writing a book, yet may feel it’s all empty and feel alone, thinking no one understands them. It’s tricky to express this in the wish fulfillment realm of the movies, but the freedom of artistic expression in smaller movies allows for more possibilities than the classic “happy” endings. Sometimes they are mixed, just like life.
The End of the Tour, from director James Ponsoldt (who also did the excellent The Spectacular Now), is about a long conversation. In 1996, burgeoning novelist and writer for Rolling Stone David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) went to interview famous author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) at the end of his book tour for Infinite Jest. They spent a few days together, going to book readings and signings, talking endlessly and pushing constantly. The movie is based on Lipsky’s 2010 book Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself about the experience, one of the many layers of adaptive noise here. This is one of those classic “slice of life” movies, meaning it’s about a few days in the life of some people. Days of significance but not grave importance, important memories but not world shaking. It’s a common genre for indie movies.
As such, there isn’t much in the way of plot here. The two Davids hang out with people, have a few arguments, and drive around a lot just talking. But that said, this basically just worked. Jason Segel is great as the famous author, utilizing awkward physicality like Superman afraid to touch anything. His geniality comes through, meaning although it’s a departure from the slacker comedies he’s done in the past, there are a lot of similarities to other characters. But he also plays well against Jesse Eisenberg, who’s basically always good, and brings his own brand of brittle awkwardness. Considering that the movie is essentially just the two of them talking to, at, and around each other, this kind of consideration is pretty important.
The motivations are important here; Lipsky wants to write an amazing article for a magazine that wasn’t writing about novelists. He connects to David Foster Wallace as the epitome of what he wants for himself, but he also has the desire to be something himself. Rumors of Foster Wallace’s drug addiction have circulated, so Lipsky ponders whether or not it’s worth it to pursue such a delicate and invasive line of questioning. So there’s a line between camaraderie and professionalism, propriety and temptation, and the blurry fog of awkwardness permeated everything. For his part, Wallace seems like he isn’t happy with the man he’s become and finds the sudden fame confusing. Perhaps the dialog isn’t 100% sparkling from beginning to end, but the acting elevates everything to the point where it’s easy to become emotionally invested.
Wondering about whether or not you should care is an ongoing question for movies like this, with characters with complexities that aren’t hero or even anti-hero. Just people with problems who are inherently decent but don’t always make the best decisions. The film is wrapped in a bit of a flashback device when Lipsky hears about David Foster Wallace’s suicide in 2008, which I think is helpful but is on the edge of being cloying. There are a few supporting performances here from people you may recognize, but that’s almost irrelevant. The two leads here are the show, and both are great. It’s a movie that seems a touch long, but it’s mostly very well paced.
It’s volatile energy and awkwardness jumbled together with serious treatises on Alanis Morissette and writing in general. A movie I really enjoyed.
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