"The End Of The Tour," If you see nothing else all summer, see this one.
Just saw a screening of The End Of The Tour, a bio pic about writer, author/journalist David Lipsky, interviewing uber literary star, David Foster Wallace, during his 5 day book tour.
The film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg and is superbly written by playwright, Donald Margulies. Not to mention it's also expertly directed by James Ponsoldt, who gets out of the way to allow the story to unfold as it does. This is the kind of film that transcends all the trappings of similar bio pics, or road-trip movies, to become something seamlessly much larger one ever suspects it will be.
I'm pretty sure Jason Segal will earn an Oscar nomination, even possibly one for both leading men. Not to mention one for best screenplay. End Of The Tour, is at it's heart, a gift to watch. It will stay with you, hopefully for a long, long time. You don't need to be a well-read pop-culture freak or literary aficionado to be touched by this film. You just need to care about keeping your heart open and not being seduced by the trappings of success.
It's released 7/31/15. I am taking both my daughters to see it right away. I want them to each experience the message of End Of The Tour down in their bones and never forget why being a good person isn't about anything so mundane as avoiding being selfish or working hard to succeed: Being a decent person is simply what one does because not to is a life wasted. It's not a complicated message, but sometimes our society makes it so.
If you see nothing else this summer, make a point to see this one.
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