‘The End’ Review: Tilda Swinton Sings Delusion in Apocalyptic Musical

One of the most polarizing films screened at the festival 2024 Toronto International Film Festival was endingA two-and-a-half-hour musical about humanity’s final days on Earth.

Far from the awe-inspiring spectacle of an apocalyptic action movie the day after tomorrow Even the din of modern American movie musicals greatest performerDirector Joshua Oppenheimer places the audience in a bizarre bunker half a mile underground. There lives a family of wealthy industrialists who are blind to the dying world above them. That is, until the survivors find their way to their homes. Will her unexpected arrival disrupt their delicate psychological balance? You bet.

What follows is certainly not for everyone. Some critics I spoke to at TIFF complained that Oppenheimer’s musical was indulgent in its playing, ugly in its relentless blue-grey tones, and even infuriating in its plot. Others felt that the film’s length, bleak colors, and depressing plot were exactly the point, and embraced it. I fall into the latter camp and found this sad and visionary musical to be captivating, highly entertaining, and extremely profound.

ending Preparing for the end of the world Downton Abbey.

Forget everything you know about bunkers. This family – whose names are never mentioned – built something deep underground, not of metal and cold, but of very ancient money. Their home is located inside a giant salt mine, with its spiraling walls and noisy ventilation system, far removed from the apocalypse. It contains crown molding, classic artwork in gilded frames, a wood-paneled library, a lavish dining room, an intricate model train set, an inexplicable constant supply of food, and, most importantly, pristine order right down to the bouquets of paper flowers placed in In an exquisite vase.

Here, a 25-year-old man (played by George MacKay) who was born in a bunker only knows his doting mother (played by Tilda Swinton), his close father (played by Michael Shannon), and his loyal housekeeper (played by Tilda Swinton). Jim McInerney) and the cheeky chef (Bronagh). Even though they may be the last humans on Earth, they seem happy, singing songs expressing gratitude for their situation. Well, that’s when they’re not conducting dramatic emergency drills. (You can never be too careful.)

The absurdity of their privilege becomes even more apparent when a survivor (Moses Ingram) stumbles upon them on the ground. Understandably, she was completely confused by what they had while the people on the ground were starving. The political commentary only becomes more overt as the young black woman hears the selective history her white son has embraced, such as that the oil industry that made their fortunes absolutely did not cause the climate crisis that forced this family to leave others behind. into the ground. Her raised eyebrows and patient tone not only rebutted the propaganda but also brought a dry sense of humor to the family.

ending It offers bleak scenery and captivating song and dance.

As her son stands in awe of this stranger, she talks openly about her regrets and urges others to do the same, but a primal tension arises between her and her mother, who would rather her family’s skeletons were neatly tucked away Closet, thank you very much. Anxiety grows as a romance blossoms between the son and a stranger. To our delight, this leads to a charming duet and a dance in which salt is kicked into the mine, which sits impassively uninterested in the pair’s passion. This energy echoes the towering, uncaring surroundings west side story. But with nowhere to escape but the dying world above, where else could this story go?

Oppenheimer and co-writer Rasmus Hesterberg plunge the audience into the push and pull between the mother’s strategic repression and the stranger’s emotional outbursts. Swinton sings in a high-pitched falsetto that reflects her character’s emotional intensity, as if her mother could collapse at any moment. McKay brings a bright, Broadway-like performance style, while Ingram sings soulful ballads of loss and hope. Shannon and McInerney add in some vaguely vaudeville tap dancing and banter, but the humor of this is undercut by the father’s cruel reminder of his rank to his fellow butlers.

“The End” leaves us trapped in a relentless cycle in which its core family faces the risk of change or growth while denying it.

Trapped in this beautiful bunker, under the unblinking blue light, they are specimens trapped under glass. These are the last humans on Earth, preserved without purpose in a museum of their own making. Still, there are moments when it seems like these characters might burst out—not out of their bunkers, but out of the pretty molds they’ve built to survive under the guise of civilization. A brutal spat in her parents’ bathroom brought Shannon’s signature intensity to a boil. Swinton’s eyes were bright and on the verge of tears, revealing the deep hurt hidden behind the mother’s practiced smile. McKay possesses a nerve-wracking intensity of madness, and he often seems on the verge of breaking this frenzied cycle of self-mythology. But then Oppenheimer will quickly cut to a later time, when the drama has passed and routine has returned. The tension is gone and we bleed with it.

ending Leaving us trapped in a relentless cycle in which nuclear families risk change or growth while denying it. Both those who love and hate the film agree that this loop makes for a very frustrating viewing experience. But it feels intentional. As he did in two Oscar-nominated documentaries, Silent look and act of killingIn “Oppenheimer,” Oppenheimer uses incredible artistry to find his way under our skin, exposing the distasteful reality of human capacity—not just the horrors of what we can do to each other things, but also things we can ignore in order to maintain our fragile sense of civilization.

exist Finish, Even when the director shows us people who have done terrible things, Oppenheimer never loses sympathy for them. While they lie a lot, this incredible cast makes their pain feel real, so even if we have troubles or political opinions, you can feel for the mother worried about losing her son. Yet – as ridiculous as this sounds – the most devastating line in the entire movie is about the cake. Literally cake.

Challenging expectations of the musical and apocalyptic narrative genre, ending It’s a challenge placed before the audience. The songs and dances aren’t perfect, being a little awkward or tinny at times. But this works because each instance is a reflection of that character, and they fall short of the projection of perfection and happiness. The suffocating dullness bleached out the rosy color in the rosy cheeks, making everything feel vaguely lifeless, maybe even embalmed. The plot of the film goes to a place that is both worthwhile and unbearable. Still, it’s exciting to see a musical take so many risks, especially when the studio seems afraid to even promote the film yes A musical. (see trailer mean girls, Wonka, and evilall of which hide the actual singing. ) Frankly, it’s refreshing to be so surprised and emotionally disrupted by a new musical.

all in all, ending This is a brave film that is terrifying, disturbing, raw and original.

ending The film’s Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival was met with censorship. Will be released in limited quantities on December 6th.