The End of the Tour

Back in good ol’ 1996, the year that gave us such cinematic masterpieces as Fargo, Trainspotting, and the greatest disaster movie of all time Independence Day, a little diddy called 'Infinite Jest' was unleashed on the world. Its author David Foster Wallace had prior to its release achieved moderate success with his first novel 'The Broom of the System' and a number of essays, but the publication of 'Infinite Jest' hurled him into the annals of writer superstardom. In a 2004 retrospective review, writer Chad Harbach declared 'Infinite Jest' “the central American novel of the past thirty years, a dense star for lesser work to orbit” and Time included the novel in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels since 1923.

Despite Wallace’s general disdain of being considered a ‘celebrity,’ he agreed to an interview with writer/journalist David Lipsky for a Rolling Stone article. Lipsky joined Wallace for a five-day stint near the end of the Infinite Jest book tour, tape recording their many conversations. Although the interviewer/subject barrier was never fully breached, largely due to Wallace’s full awareness that Lipsky’s ultimate job was to get some dirt on the author in order to craft a stellar article, the two of them ended up developing something of a mutual respect for one another and even something resembling a friendship. It was kind of an older brother/younger brother dynamic in a way with Wallace functioning as the older on one end of the success spectrum and Lipsky representing the younger brother striving for the approval of his ‘better.’ The article never got published as it was deemed not sensational enough for Rolling Stone’s readers, but Lipsky ended up transcribing their conversations and releasing them in book form under the title ‘Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself,’ released two years after Wallace's suicide in 2008.

The relationship between the two writers forms the basis of James Ponsoldt’s latest film The End of the Tour, a deeply affecting and ofttimes hilarious examination of two writers coping with their varying degrees of success. It’s essentially a bromance tale minus whatever negative connotations the term ‘bromance’ evokes. It is a beautiful film and works on nearly every level, partially because it doesn’t require you to be a Wallace-devotee in order to fully enjoy the experience. I haven’t even read 'Infinite Jest' (I’m sure I’ll get around to it someday), but this never held me back from being totally invested in the fascinating relationship between these two prolific writers. The film is essentially one long conversation after another. It’s actually very reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s talky Before Sunrise Trilogy, and it’s to the credit of playwright Donald Margulies who penned the screenplay and the performances of Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg that the conversations flow so naturally and never once come across as dull.

And speaking of performances, can we take a moment to call these sexy guys out? I’ve always been a big fan of Segel’s ever since his work on Freaks & Geeks and this may be the best thing he’s done since the show was cancelled. That’s not a knock against his body of work; Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets are exceptional films, but his performance as David Foster Wallace shows just how much he’s matured as an actor and I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it ends up earning him his first Oscar nod.

Likewise, Eisenberg continues to prove himself as one of our finest young actors. I know the guy’s got his haters due to his eccentric awkwardness, but over the course of his career he has compiled a wide variety of work, consistently giving some really solid performances. Watching him and Segel bounce off each other (conversationally, not physically, though I’m sure if the entire movie was just the two of them literally bouncing off each other it would still be fantastic) is one of the more enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a movie theater this year. Their chemistry is impeccable and I love the way they play the relationship - often respectful and amicable, but occasionally their egos get in the way. Wallace and Lipsky clearly admired each other, but that admiration never once got in the way of them calling each other out on their respective B.S. Some of the film's most powerful moments come from the two butting heads and Segel and Eisenberg really excel in these scenes.

I was a fan of director Ponsoldt’s last film The Spectacular Now, but felt it relished a bit too much in its own depression, never quite striking the right balance between telling a story and being an anti-alcohol campaign. Here, he finds exactly the right balance and tone for the subject matter, allowing the naturalism of the dialogue and the performances to shine through all whilst crafting some truly beautiful imagery with the assistance of Jakob Ihre’s cinematography. I also appreciated that he and Marguilies never tried to unnaturally foreshadow the tragedy of Wallace’s ultimate fate or milk some superficial pathos from it. His focus is solely on the story being told and the relationship between Wallace and Lipsky and that focus makes the film all the more powerful.

The End of the Tour is Ponsoldt’s best work yet and one of the best films of the year. Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of David Foster Wallace, you owe it to yourself to see this one. You just might learn something about everything.

FINAL RATING: 5/5