The End of the Tour

Audience Reviews

View All (402) audience reviews

Dave S For those interested in delving into the psyche of David Foster Wallace, one of the great literary minds of the last forty years, The End of the Tour will be satisfying viewing. For those who have never heard of Wallace or have not read his seminal opus Infinite Jest, the movie will either be a great introduction to a great writer or, more likely, a monumental bore. Jesse Eisenberg plays David Lipsky, a journalist from Rolling Stone, who travels to the American Midwest to interview the enigmatic Wallace (Jason Segel) as he wraps up his book tour for the recently released Infinite Jest. Despite consisting of almost two hours of talking heads, the movie is consistently compelling due to the great performances from the leads, plenty of smart dialogue, and the fact that both characters have tremendous depth. Or you’ll find the talking heads painfully dull. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/11/24 Full Review Alec B Despite the very good performances and the often engaging discussions I found the final product a bit too rose-tinted and sentimental in it's depiction of Wallace. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/13/23 Full Review Trenton K This movie changed my life. As a 17 year old kid who had little to no introduction to serious high-art literature, this movie was a gateway drug for me. I'm 21 now, but ever since I first watched it, I go back again every once and while to relive the profound experience of seeing the benefits of being well-read in the characters portrayed in this film. While some critics -- including a friend of Wallace -- claim the film falls short from portraying who Wallace was accurately. I believe this misses the point. To me the film is less about Wallace and more of a poignant showcase of what it means to be a deep, nuanced, and well-read thinker in our postmodern world concerned with vapid entertainment and addiction rather than the deeper fulfillment and satisfaction of digesting substantive thought and art. I've never been the same since I first watched this film. It continues to have a crucial impact on my life today. This film was crucial for my adolescence and maturity into a young man in todays world. It inspired me to read difficult books and start taking my understanding of the world more seriously. Said books were crucial to deepening my understanding of everything, but I was less aware I needed them before this movie guided me towards such a direction. This movie introduced me to D. F. W. as a figure and has thus inspired me to enter a world of art, theory, and philosophy that has made my life significantly more fulfilling through frameworks of deeper understanding. I'm grateful for this film as a gateway into a realm of culture and thinking I would be unfamiliar with if it weren't for it taking the format of an accessible movie that matched my interest in dull but instantly gratifying Netflix movies. This film is crucial for a world existing with an increasing amount of generations growing up on vapid and hyper-produced content with less and less guidance towards the importance of deep-thinking and contemplation amongst such a postmodern landscape. I believe this film's purpose, at least the purpose it ascribes for me, was to guide me out of this postmodern realm of vapidness towards a realm of deeper contemplation, understanding, philosophy, and imagination; a realm much more significant than the postmodern realm I was born in -- a realm I was doomed to grow up in without the guidance to operate its power successfully. I am now inspired to lead a future that does operate this power successfully. I believe this film was a crucial stepping stone towards becoming the adult I am today. I believe this film is important for anyone who needs to be introduced to serious literature and thinking, but hasn't the privilege to find it without this film existing in the accessible format necessary to take them there without it. I never had a family that guided towards this realm, and frankly, the educational institutions weren't concerned with inspiring me to get there either. Seemingly, the education system I grew up in as an American was more concerned with killing my spirit for learning rather than supporting it. This movie is one of my absolute favorites. I believe any literature or philosophy geek needs to watch this film at some point. Those who have yet to understand why they need serious literature and thinking in their life might need this film the most. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/22 Full Review crustina d This film is perfect. Superbly acted and written and filmed. James Ponsoldt's best film -- leaps and bounds better than anything he has yet made. Brilliantly nuanced, emotional and hilarious! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review the s I feel like David Foster Wallace would have hated this movie and that really says it all, dunnit? There's way too much awkwardness and neuroticism put on display here between the 2 characters…to the point of it moving behind a story of a character study into a display of caricatures. And we don't really need the excessive awkwardness…it feels implied but it's exaggerated. Ultimately it feels like a movie that just didn't need to be made. Wallace was brilliant in hos observations of the human condition and this movie tries to dissect something that is best left unexplored. College students who haven't read Infinite Jest will enjoy it as a vignette of early-aughts pop culture but it doesn't really fill any gaps or provide any clarity to an author who seemed to enjoy muddying the waters. And sometimes the myths are more interesting than the truth. But even though depression and genius may go hand in hand sometimes, it doesn't need to be peeled back for the layers to all be examined. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review robert r Can confirm that even those who are generally unfamiliar with the life and times of David Foster Wallace can find enjoyment in James Ponsoldt's "The End Of The Tour," as my knowledge of the man and his works were limited at best before watching this. From any angle, this is a contemplative, authentic and honest look at the burden of brilliance, the drawbacks of envying others and the layers of depth that we all contain within us. It's hard to even say that anything really "happens" in this movie and yet I couldn't help but be enraptured with seeing these two guys talking, trying to figure each other out. You have to love the natural chemistry between the two lead performers and the acting overall. Jason Segel is the obvious standout, venturing out of the usual comedic trappings to play one of the more fascinating individuals to pop up in modern literature. Definitely a great watch, overall. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The End of the Tour

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now