Charlie Kaufman: Ranking All 8 Films Worst To Best

Kaufman's latest is a nightmare of a breakup movie.

Jessie Buckley stars as Jesse Plemons' girlfriend who is considering ending their relationship after they go to visit his parents. The film is told distinctly in four parts: Car journey to the parents' house, the parents' house, car journey from the parents' house, and a final segment.

Two of those are extraordinary... and two of those are just car journeys.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is undoubtedly an intelligent film and Kaufman has put a lot of effort into layering his narrative. This means the car journeys have a distinct storytelling purpose but they are incredibly long and do unfortunately leave you checking the length of the film at times. I can appreciate their value but it doesn't make them any less boring.

The other segments however, especially the parents' house, are some of Kaufman's best work. Toni Collette and David Thewlis bring a vibrancy to the film that it otherwise lacks. Collette in particular is so adept at playing manic and unhinged that they might as well cast her as the next Joker.

Once the film is over you can be left with a certain degree of sadness, this is definitely Kaufman's most depressing film to date. It leans heavily on dark and macabre themes but does so in a particularly affecting way. If those car journeys were shortened, this would be so much higher on the list.