Now, Charlie Kaufman is a smart guy. He made some incredible movies that are definitely unlike almost any other movie out there. However, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is unfortunately not one of them. It's nowhere near bad or poorly-crafted, but that odd energy that inhabits all of the great Kaufman movies here actually ends up being a problem.
The start of the film perfectly showcases this issue. As the two characters chat on, mixed with the internal monologue of the main protagonists, the views get an insight into the rest of the film. Yes, they will strain to find meaning and connections, they will try to unravel the poetry and symbolism from long, pseudo-monologues. But, ultimately, they will decide against all of this because the movie simply does not connect on a more basic level. As that smart kid who always wanted everyone at school to see how smart he is, I bet that this movie also found out that you can be very intelligent and utterly dislikable at the same time.
