The End of the Tour Review
RYAN: This is a new biopic, character study, chronicling a journalist who spends several days traveling with a famous American author to do a feature story on him in Rolling Stone magazine. It’s based on the true story of when David Lipsky, the reporter, followed David Foster Wallace, who made a huge splash with his lengthy novel Infinite Jest.
CAROLINE: And correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it, like, the first time, ever, that Rolling Stone covered an author?
RYAN: Yes. It was a breakthrough article and these two men were very interesting both on their own and in relation to each other. We don’t often see dramatized the relationship between interviewer and interviewee. And it’s interesting to look at how superficial it really is, when a journalist interviews a celebrity. Whether it’s for two minutes or days, they either make you feel like you’re close or let you in, but it’s never real. That aspect of this movie fascinated me, since I do interviews like that from time to time.
CAROLINE: I’ve done some of those celeb interviews with you and you are prone to fantasizing about them, so it’s cool to hear you talk about this one. How are the actors?
RYAN: They’re good, consistent, but I found them both annoying after a while. First of all, you feel kind of claustrophobic with them anyway because most of the movie is just them talking – this would make for a good stage play. But it becomes monotonous, and add to that, Jason Segal’s very nonchalant, lackadaisical delivery, and the energy is often anything but dramatic. There are a couple spikes of energy, or drama, in the film, but never any to really sustain it. For most of it, I was actively aware of how bored I was watching this movie.
CAROLINE: The premise is sort of Almost Famous-like, isn’t it?
RYAN: I thought that even before seeing it. They are completely different movies. One is Oscar caliber and well rounded and this new one is just flat – but yes – both deal with a Rolling Stone reporter going on the road with his subject for an article.
CAROLINE: Clearly this is a much smaller movie, though.
RYAN: I’m embarrassed to say I never read, no even heard of Infinite Jest, so this was a new story to me and it seems interesting but the movie never inspired me to want to read it. Jason, as David Foster Wallace, makes some thought provoking statements about loneliness and life that intrigued me and I’ve thought of since the film, but again, it’s not enough of the movie to make it all that watchable.
CAROLINE: Was it really just the two of them the whole time?
RYAN: No, about halfway through, it perks up a bit when we see some Joan Cusack who we love. Some cute moments and much needed break in energy from the Jesse and the Jason.
CAROLINE: Sounds like a rather bleak movie.
RYAN: It is. There’s great commentary about self, perception of self, life, loneliness – I like these concepts and they’re sometimes discussed. But it would probably be more for talking about these things in real life rather than listening to these two characters discuss them and then have some weird competition between them, like brothers or something. It has its moments and the writing and performances are good – and because I like the issues and concepts raised, it’s worth seeing – but not to run out to the theater.
