’Tis the season of big-screen musicals, though The End is unlikely to earn either the adoration of Wicked or the esteem of Emilia Pérez. Joshua Oppenheimer’s apocalyptic eccentricity is mostly admirable for its ambition, which often feels nearly endless – as, alas, does the film itself, at two hours and 28 minutes.
It’s intriguing, and even entertaining, at first, to watch Michael Shannon and Tilda Swinton as Father and Mother, warbling songs about their dreary existence in an isolated bunker. While Swinton isn’t the strongest singer, she does seem most comfortable in this semi-experimental setting, as a tightly-wound matriarch who will do anything to protect her family from ecological disaster. Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit) is also excellent as the mysterious Girl, a newly-arrived stranger who upends the family’s carefully-designed life. Unfortunately, the sombre approach of the other cast members only draws more attention to George MacKay’s self-consciously broad performance as the troubled Son, who has never known life in the uninhabitable outside.
The ambition feels endless – alas, so does the film
Oppenheimer has made two outstanding, truly shocking documentaries – The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, both Oscar nominees, and his intentions here are commendable. He’s attempting something equally risky and unusual for his narrative debut, and it’s easy to imagine that his theatrical staging would, in fact, make more sense on a stage. Although his dialogue and libretto – co-written with Rasmus Heisterberg – are often awkwardly simplistic, the evocative music from Joshua Schmidt and Marius de Vries effectively underscores the emotions gripping each character. They may not understand how they feel, but we do. And that is, at least, a worthy start.
In UK and Ireland cinemas Mar 28, 2025.