Sundance 2015: Films We Have Seen4 of 10
The End of the Tour
James Ponsoldt’s The End of the Tour recounts the five-day interview between Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky and author David Foster Wallace as he’s finishing up his book tour for Infinite Jest. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Lipsky, a novelist who returns to journalism after his novel had good reviews but little sales. His editor reluctantly agrees to let Lipsky do an interview with Wallace, making it the first profile piece on an author in the magazine. Jason Segel plays David Foster Wallace in what I think may be his best role to date. Wallace agrees to let Lipsky join him for his last tour date in Minneapolis, but it’s obvious he was uncomfortable both with the interview and his newfound fame. The two have an astounding conversation about life, philosophy, what it means to be a successful artist, and the value of that success and at times turned from friendly to hostile. What stood out to me was throughout the entire film, the tape recorder was always present in the frame and at times felt like a weapon. In the Q&A, Ponsoldt stated he wanted the recorder to feel like Chekov’s gun. Because the recorder was so present, I thought these conversations may be verbatim but screenwriter Don Marguiles (who was also Ponsoldt’s professor) reimagined these conversations as he adapted Lipsky’s memoir. Out of all the films I’ve seen so far, this is the one I keep coming back to.
James Ponsoldt’s The End of the Tour recounts the five-day interview between Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky and author David Foster Wallace as he’s finishing up his book tour for Infinite Jest. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Lipsky, a novelist who returns to journalism after his novel had good reviews but little sales. His editor reluctantly agrees to let Lipsky do an interview with Wallace, making it the first profile piece on an author in the magazine. Jason Segel plays David Foster Wallace in what I think may be his best role to date. Wallace agrees to let Lipsky join him for his last tour date in Minneapolis, but it’s obvious he was uncomfortable both with the interview and his newfound fame. The two have an astounding conversation about life, philosophy, what it means to be a successful artist, and the value of that success and at times turned from friendly to hostile. What stood out to me was throughout the entire film, the tape recorder was always present in the frame and at times felt like a weapon. In the Q&A, Ponsoldt stated he wanted the recorder to feel like Chekov’s gun. Because the recorder was so present, I thought these conversations may be verbatim but screenwriter Don Marguiles (who was also Ponsoldt’s professor) reimagined these conversations as he adapted Lipsky’s memoir. Out of all the films I’ve seen so far, this is the one I keep coming back to.
PeopleJesse Eisenberg, Jason Segel
TitlesThe End of the Tour