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Updated September 10th, 2020 at 17:21 IST

What is 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' about? Here's what happens at the end

Charlie Kaufman's 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' was released on Netflix on September 4, 2020. Find out what is the film about and what happens at the end

Reported by: Disha Kandpal
what is i'm thinking of ending things about
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The latest American psychological thriller film I’m Thinking of Ending Things was released on Netflix on September 4, 2020. Helmed by the award-winning writer and director Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is based on 2016 novel written by Iain Reid, which goes by the same name. Since the release of this thriller drama, fans on twitter have been divided about the film. On one hand, many fans claimed that the film was extremely artistic, others found it difficult to comprehend. In any case, most of the viewers were utterly confused about the film’s ending. Find out, “What is I’m Thinking of Ending Things about?”

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What is I’m Thinking of Ending Things about?

At first glance, I’m Thinking of Ending Things appears to be a story about a young woman who is going to meet her boyfriend, Jake’s parents for the first time. She appears to be very nervous as they have been going out only six to seven weeks at this point. At this point, fans realise that the film’s title comes from the young woman’s thoughts about ending her relationship with Jake.

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Is I’m Thinking of Ending Things a horror movie?

No, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is not a horror movie, but it is far away from being a simple story. When the young woman arrives at Jake’s place, things start to get complicated in the story. Jake’s parents begin appearing at different ages. In one moment they look young, in the next moment they appear extremely old. Their are multiple ways to interpret the film’s title. It can be assumed that the young woman is either thinking of ending things with Jake or either of them is thinking of ending their own life by committing suicide. 

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Most of what fans watch in the film isn’t really happening, at least not in the real world. All of what we see happen inside the mind of the creepy looking high school Janitor, who mysteriously keeps appearing in the movie’s scenes. The janitor is the real Jake.

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The younger version of Jake who brings his new girlfriend to meet his parents is just a figment of the real Jake’s (Janitor) imagination. The reason this was so difficult for the fans to figure out was, that the narration of the film actually takes place in the young woman’s voice, which makes us as viewers believe that she is the protagonist. The fact that the young woman’s name, appearance and clothing style keeps changing is proof that all of this is happening in Jake’s mind. This is because of the fact that for every person the details in the imagination keep changing and flickering. We are never able to imagine things with the same and consistent details.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (@imthinkingofendingthingnetflix) on

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I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Ending Explained

Given that 99 per cent of the film’s story happens in Jake’s mind, it can be very hard to separate fact from fiction. But, if you watch it carefully, you will realise that there are figments of truth buried between the fiction. One such truth is revealed when the young woman, who at this point in the story is being called Lucy talks to the Janitor and tells him what really happened the night she had met Jake.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (@imthinkingofendingthingnetflix) on

Lucy reveals that the first time Jake had met her, he had creeped her out by incessantly staring at her and they never spoke to each other. This explains the several inconsistencies with her name, appearance and even with her profession because in reality Jake never talked to her and didn’t even know her name. This explains that although its  Lucy’s voice in the narration, it is actually coming from Jake’s mind. 

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He tries to imagine different versions of the girl he had seen one night at the bar. Jake also imagines different versions of what could have happened had he done things differently. In reality Jake had never moved out of his parent's house, he had watched them grow old and die. He now lived his life and was growing old alone in the same old house. 

Jake was a man who had never had a productive relationship in his life. He had barely even lived a life let alone build one. In the end, fans see that Jake finished his shift at the school and walks about in the middle of the blizzard. The ending his left anonymous but fans can imagine that like the book, Jake died lonely in the movie as well. It could be by suicide, or by freezing to death in a blizzard, or suicide. 

{Promo Image Source: I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Official Instagram)}

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Published September 10th, 2020 at 17:21 IST

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