Film Review: The End
2 min read
“Twenty-five years after environmental collapse left the Earth uninhabitable, Mother, Father and Son are confined to their palatial bunker, where they struggle to maintain hope and a sense of normalcy by clinging to the rituals of daily life—until the arrival of a stranger, Girl, upends their happy routine.” – MUBI
Snapshot Review: The world is over, the mighty capitalists have exploited the resources and all that is left is a hollow, empty, reality. The story begins rather aptly at ‘The End’ by following a wealthy family who live independently within an enormous ice cave. They try to carry on their bourgeois lifestyle by surrounding themselves with expensive paintings and fancy furniture. Yet this all changes when a woman falls through the icy cracks to join this hesitant group of characters. Her presence exposes the dysfunctionality of this family and how ignoring the harsh truths of reality ends with disaster.
This is Joshua Oppenheimer’s (director of the impactful documentaries: ‘The Act of Killing’ and ‘Look of Silence’) first foray into fiction filmmaking. We clearly see quite a unique visual style through placing quite a muted and staged domestic setting within a wildly cinematic, glacial structure. Oppenheimer clearly revels in shaking the foundations of genre. The film utilises key tropes from the classic musical while being set in a sci fi dystopia. All at the same time, being very much grounded in family melodrama.
Yet, the blending of genre creates quite an oddly inconsistent tone. At times, it is difficult to engage with these complex ideas due to quite an offbeat pace. The performances and characters are all very hollow and baseless which prevent themes of generational trauma and guilt to be effectively realised. It’s a very unique film but perhaps not intentional enough to be fully appreciated.
Release Date: 28/03/2025
Genre: Sci-Fi, Musical
Cast: Tilda Swinton, George Mackay, Michael Shannon
