Charlie Kaufman, the writer of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich,” is back with his first movie in five years — an adaptation of Iain Reid’s bestselling, cult horror novel “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” on Netflix that teased its first trailer Thursday.
And this latest trip into Kaufman’s mind, which finds Jessie Buckley on a road trip to meet her boyfriend’s parents, is as strange, offbeat funny and disturbing as you’ve come to expect from one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed mind-benders.
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” stars Buckley as a young woman with second thoughts about taking a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. But when she finds herself trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), she begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.
“He’s told me so much about both of you too,” Buckley says to Jake’s parents upon meeting them. “And you came anyway,” Collette responds with a twisted Midwesterner laugh.
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is described as an exploration of regret, longing and the fragility of the human spirit, which falls right in line with Kaufman’s past films “Synecdoche, New York” and “Anomalisa.” Kaufman both wrote and directed the film based on Reid’s novel, and he also produced alongside Anthony Bregman, Robert Salerno and Stefanie Azpiazu.
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” lands on Netflix on September 4. Check out the first trailer for the film above.