Warning! Major spoilers for I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman’s psychological horror film, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, leaves an array of questions unanswered. Throughout the film, there are various twists and turns that prompt the viewer to debate whether or not what they are seeing is real. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things is an unrelenting two hours filled with the horrors of existentialism. While it does answer major questions concerning its primary characters, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things keeps its biggest mysteries a secret until the very end.
The film follows Jake (Jesse Plemons) and the young woman (Jessie Buckley) on their way to visit his parents’ farm. During the drive, the young woman states “I’m thinking of ending things”, which reveals more than what the plot initially establishes for the overarching story. While she considers breaking up with her boyfriend, his mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis) begin to shift through various ages, making the viewer aware what is being shown may not be real. Nearly all of Kaufman’s films deal with the internal struggles of the human psyche, such as Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004). The biggest difference between these two movies and I’m Thinking Of Ending Things is how the Iain Reid novel it's adapted from can be utilized to answer its biggest questions.
This is not always the case with film adaptations, but it is a useful tool in figuring out what is actually happening to Jake, his parents, and the young woman, who Kaufman names Lucy/Louisa/Lucia. While the director includes brief glimpses that tease answers to some of the movie's biggest questions through the inclusion of elements from the source material, he does not expand on the theme enough to provide concrete answers for his audience.
Who The Young Woman Really Is
The young woman introduces the film and the concept of ending things in the very beginning. While she is an integral character to the story, all of the information that the audience receives is not actually about her at all. There are moments when she reveals her true identity, but they are fleeting and never fully get unpacked. In all actuality, the young woman is Jake’s manifestation of who a stranger at the bar could have been to him had he spoken to her and asked for her number. Her name changes because he never knew her or her real name. Therefore, all of her characteristics are merely Jake’s projection of who he wished she was.
I’m Thinking Of Ending Things takes place inside of Jake’s mind. Therefore, his parents’ approval of Lucy/Lucia/Louisa is based entirely on his hope that he could find a partner who he could love and make part of his family. The reason she debates ending things is because of Jake’s inability to see himself as an individual that someone could want to spend their life with, but it is also indicative of his current state of mind. At one point in his life, she was the woman at the bar during trivia night, but that’s all she ever was. Jake manufactured the rest of her identity. The young woman's character has a multitude of layers that, when pulled back, reveal everything about the core of I’m Thinking Of Ending Things.
What The Phone Calls Actually Represent (& Who’s Calling)
During the dinner scenes between the young woman, Jake, and his parents, Lucy/Louisa/Lucia receives phone calls from herself. In a brief instance, the audience hears one of the voicemails she has supposedly left. Except, it's not her voice and she is not the one calling. It is actually Jake’s present thoughts on ending his life breaking into the fantasy. In Iain Reid’s novel, the young woman expands on how unsettling the voicemails are due to the fact that there's an ominous air attached to them. It says, “There’s only one question to resolve. I’m scared. I feel a little crazy. I’m not lucid.”
Nearly every time, the voicemails begin and end the same. Jake knows he needs to answer the question the young woman has debated for the entirety of the film, and that is whether or not they are going to end things. His awareness of his inability to think clearly establishes the frail state he is currently in, and Kaufman furthers that by making his fantasy begin to fall apart around him. As the story progresses, the more confusing it gets; the characters change, and Jake gets increasingly closer to ending things. The calls are coming from inside of Jake’s head and interrupting the projection of his desires because he cannot escape who he is and what he is actually thinking about doing.
What "I'm Thinking Of Ending Things" Really Means
Perhaps the most unsettling mystery left by the end of I’m Thinking Of Ending Things is the title of the film and what it actually means in regard to the story. It is an ominous statement in nearly every instance it could be said but, in this context, it is about Jake contemplating suicide. This depressing conclusion provides a simple explanation for an otherwise complex film, yet its significance speaks volumes to how Jake perceives himself, his relationships, and the existential dread he experiences throughout its entirety.
The young woman is everything Jake has wanted to supplement his loneliness; she is the physical representation of his need to be loved and have someone there for him until the very end, even if she's just a figment of his imagination conjured from his crushing regrets. Considering the fact the he manufactured her as well as her thoughts inside of his mind, why would he make her consider ending things? This is indicative of how Jake has low self-worth; he views himself as unlovable and undesirable. In nearly every conversation where his mother praises him, Jake shows disgust, raises his voice, or responds with irritated remarks. He does not view himself as being deserving of the life he wishes he had, even in his fantasies. All of this culminates to the progression towards his end—his decision whether or not to end things.
Kaufman’s I’m Thinking Of Ending Things leaves the most complex questions unanswered despite giving subtle hints as to their deeper meaning. Ultimately, these larger questions tie into one another and explain the film’s foundational plot. Jake has manufactured a fantasy where a woman he met years ago is now his girlfriend. Though one might think this could be enough to make someone willing to continue on through a fantasy world and life, Jake cannot escape the fact that he truly believes himself to be unworthy of anything good or even the basic comforts of the human experience like love, partnership, and family.