Our take
A hot summer night, around 2 a.m. You’re outside talking with a close friend about life, happiness, and the human condition. That quality and depth of conversation, which you reach at best a couple of times a year is present throughout the 106 minutes of The End of the Tour.
In the case of this movie, you become the witness of five days of conversation spent between two fine writers: the once-in-a-generation American author David Foster Wallace and best-selling Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky, as they travel the US during the 1996 publicity tour for the former’s magnum opus, Infinite Jest. Twelve years later Wallace will commit suicide.
Like a good podcast, the James-Ponsoldt-directed road movie makes you feel being part of a deeply personal conversation of the kind you would have with a long-time friend. At times, it can feel like eavesdropping on a genius at work. This effect is helped along by a flawless Jason Segal, who delivers an award-worthy performance as DFW. The fierce intelligence exuded by Jesse Eisenberg as David Lipsky is also nothing short of amazing. As they stuff their faces with junk food, their conversation is insightful, immediate, and unpretentiously relevant, making The End of the Tour a rare and important film.
What it won
Spirit Awards
2 noms
Sundance
1 nom
The story
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
Elsewhere
"The film, despite its flatness, is worth exploring, just as the writer's unremarkable home is picked apart by Lipsky, who prowls around like a cop, noting the contents of the bathroom cabinet and the photograph of Updike on the wall."
— Anthony Lane
"Like a hipster version of a bromance, The End of the Tour wrings humor and pathos from a macho-intellectual pas de deux. But it ultimately taps a rare and delicate strain of fellow feeling."
— Michael Sragow
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
Amazing! One of the best movies I’ve seen lately. Each conversation is heartfelt and a masterpiece in itself. I feel like I will remember the scenes for a really long time, definitely due to how real it feels and how much sympathy and understanding I, as a viewer, feel towards the characters. AND the acting is superb!
This really was like 106 minutes of those conversations you have at 2 AM in the morning with your close friends. Deep meaningful ones, about life and meaning.
Just really well done… Thought it would be too boring for me, but each conversation kept me reflecting about some aspect of life that doesn’t garner enough thought in my days.
The movie is very bland. It doesn’t have a very clear conflict and it seems to glide over parts I wish it focused more on. But I have to say that the ending was very enjoyable. I would recommend you watch the entire movie even just for the ending.
Absolutely loved this movie. A friend of mine had recommended infinite jest by DFW years ago and the book was a random placement in my life I couldn’t quite reconcile with the low vocabulary level I held. Seeing this sent me on a DFW binge of YouTube and I can’t wait to start the book finally that I’ve had sitting around. It gives perspective to the inner workings of his mind and intentions he has to write and lends a minimal method to his madness. Very thought provoking and gratifying.
I love Jesse Eisenberg in everything he does, but dislike Jason Segel and his character. It seems slow moving, and I wished I felt differently. I did watch it through though, but it becomes easily forgettable for me.