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ENDINGS, BEGINNINGS
Director: Drake Doremus Cast: Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan, Sebastian Stan, Lindsay Sloane, Wendie Malick, Kyra Sedgwick, Shamier Anderson, Ben Esler, Matthew Gray Gubler MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:50 Release Date: 4/17/20 (digital); 5/1/20 (on-demand) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | April 16, 2020 It's amazing how many of the conflicts in Endings, Beginnings could be solved with a three-minute conversation. A major source of that conflict, though, is Daphne (Shailene Woodley), the main character, who seems to thrive on conflict. The screenplay by Jardine Libaire and director Drake Doremus doesn't see its protagonist that way, despite the fact that almost all of the character's issues stem from the fact that she can't be honest and forthright in any of her dealings. The movie has a similar problem. It's set up as a character study, following Daphne after she breaks up with her boyfriend of four years because she started to feel too comfortable in the relationship. She moves in with her sister Billie (Lindsay Sloane), because Daphne had been living with the boyfriend. She's also unemployed, because she quit her job for a reason that the screenwriters drag out in revealing. The major thrust of the story has Daphne swearing off men and alcohol as a way of getting her life on track. At a party, though, she meets two guys: Jack (Jamie Dornan), a handsome and charismatic writer, and Frank (Sebastian Stan), a handsome and charismatic guy (who must do something other than being handsome and charismatic, although it's never clear). After some mild protestation on Daphne's part, she ends up dating both of the men, who happen to be best friends (Since we only see them together in one scene, we have to take the movie's word on that). Libaire and Doremus do a lot of half-hearted armchair psychoanalysis to explain Daphne's inconsistent thoughts and irresponsible behavior. None of it sticks or is explored in any meaningful way. It seems like an afterthought on the part of the screenwriters to rationalize, justify, or excuse how inconsistent, irresponsible, and immature Daphne is. Some of it has to do with her parents, who split when she young, and especially her mother (played by Wendie Malick), who's meant to be judgmental and overbearing but never comes across that way. As for the reason Daphne quit her job, the movie keeps it at such a distance that the move feels more like exploiting trauma than empathizing with the reality of it. The filmmakers try to get us on Daphne's side in almost every way imaginable. Endings, Beginnings doesn't work, though, because the one way it evades is the truth. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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