Director: James Ponsoldt Starring: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Joan Cusack, Ron Livingston, Mamie Gummer Writer: Donald Margulies | 4.5/5 The End of the Tour James Ponsoldt’s last film, 2013’s The Spectacular Now, took a tried and true coming-of-age teen romance model and produced something that upturned all expectations with sharp reflections and strong performances. His latest, the David Foster Wallace-centric The End of the Tour, sticks to no templates and takes more risks without sacrificing any of those emotional revelations that have become a signature of his work. The film is little more than a five-day-long conversation between two intellectuals, one a universally acclaimed novelist (Wallace, played by funnyman Jason Segel) and the other a columnist for Rolling Stone (David Lipsky, Jesse Eisenberg). Like Richard Linklater, the master conversationalist, Ponsoldt, working form a script by Donald Margulies, uses acute direction and stellar performances to get to the heart of an exchange. And what an exchange this one is. The tagline for the film is “imagine the greatest conversation you’ve ever had.” Alas, End of the Tour may not feature the greatest onscreen conversation ever, but you get the point. A talk with Wallace, now deceased, would have been something to treasure, even a brief chat. Lip sky got five full days of access, traveling with him on the tail end of his book tour for Infinite Jest, Wallace’s undisputed masterpiece. Though the official “subject” of their talk was the run of the mill “getting to know…” stuff, Lipsky soon found out that this was not the kind of interview one has with the eccentric writer - that’s not even mentioning Lipsky’s sleaze of an editor urging him to prod Wallace about his rumored heroin addiction. |
After shying away from the more straightforward questions, Wallace begins to dig into this interviewer’s quirks, tricks, and no-so-subtle insecurities. Already a bit jealous and sensitive, to the fact that his own novel performed poorly, Lipsky turns the tables and attempts to expose Wallace’s own social problems. The back and forth is riveting, flipping from courteous to aggravated to sadness and back again. Envious and suspicious, Lipsky puts Wallace on the spot with questions about his bandana, his affinity for diet sodas, etc. Wallace, never missing a beat, asks about Lipsky’s relationship, ambition, job, etc. In the end, Tour is a piercing reflection on depression, fame, artistry, and the mysterious, tragic wonder that was David Foster Wallace.
None of this would have worked, however, without a strong cast to carry the 104 minutes of heavy dialogue. Ponsoldt hits the casting jackpot. Like last week’s Steve Jobs, the actor portraying our lead may not be a physical match, but he more than makes up for it with a haunting performance. That actor, in a surprising turn of events, is Jason Segel. the star mostly known for Judd Apatow comedies and the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. In a rare dramatic turn, Segel proves he has something to offer everyone. Like Jonah Hill (Moneyball), James Franco (take your pick), and Seth Rogen (Steve Jobs) before him, it’s always nice to see the guys expanding their horizons.
Opposite of Segel is Jesse Eisenberg, the king of cinematic neurosis. From his star-making turn in The Social Network to dumb escapism comedies like this year’s American Ultra, Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg was always the smartest person in the room. Just as smug, Eisenberg’s Lipsky thinks he is the smartest, only to pale in the shadow of Wallace. Needless to say, he tires of it pretty quickly. This verbal game of tag is one you cannot miss.
Here and there, a few nice supporting turns are thrown in. Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Joan Cusack, Ron Livingston, and Mamie Gummer (Ricki and the Flash/Meryl Streep’s daughter), all show up for a little bit of the fun, but all of them pale in comparison to the two leading men. They simply hog up too much of the spotlight. It also does not help that the film’s other characters are basically only there to service the plot, knocking Eisenberg and Segel into action like bumpers in a pinball machine. So, yeah, End of the Tour isn’t perfect, but it contains plenty of small wonders to justify the rent. I am still holding out for a film that truly tackles Wallace head on; until then, this is going to have to do. We could do much worse.
(Available on iTunes)
None of this would have worked, however, without a strong cast to carry the 104 minutes of heavy dialogue. Ponsoldt hits the casting jackpot. Like last week’s Steve Jobs, the actor portraying our lead may not be a physical match, but he more than makes up for it with a haunting performance. That actor, in a surprising turn of events, is Jason Segel. the star mostly known for Judd Apatow comedies and the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. In a rare dramatic turn, Segel proves he has something to offer everyone. Like Jonah Hill (Moneyball), James Franco (take your pick), and Seth Rogen (Steve Jobs) before him, it’s always nice to see the guys expanding their horizons.
Opposite of Segel is Jesse Eisenberg, the king of cinematic neurosis. From his star-making turn in The Social Network to dumb escapism comedies like this year’s American Ultra, Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg was always the smartest person in the room. Just as smug, Eisenberg’s Lipsky thinks he is the smartest, only to pale in the shadow of Wallace. Needless to say, he tires of it pretty quickly. This verbal game of tag is one you cannot miss.
Here and there, a few nice supporting turns are thrown in. Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Joan Cusack, Ron Livingston, and Mamie Gummer (Ricki and the Flash/Meryl Streep’s daughter), all show up for a little bit of the fun, but all of them pale in comparison to the two leading men. They simply hog up too much of the spotlight. It also does not help that the film’s other characters are basically only there to service the plot, knocking Eisenberg and Segel into action like bumpers in a pinball machine. So, yeah, End of the Tour isn’t perfect, but it contains plenty of small wonders to justify the rent. I am still holding out for a film that truly tackles Wallace head on; until then, this is going to have to do. We could do much worse.
(Available on iTunes)