Have you ever watched a movie and wondered how on earth it ever got made? And even if somebody did put up the cash, how did they get such high-profile actors to star in it?? That was the one singular thought that ran through my brain when I finished the drama Endings, Beginnings. But before I get ahead of myself, I should probably tell you what the film is actually about.
Daphne (Shailene Woodley from Adrift) is lost. Mentally that is. A 30-something, she has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and with nowhere else to go, moves into her sister's pool house. Set in LA, it's all very quinoa and good clean green smoothie living. So much so that Daphne realises her dependency on both alcohol and men is not helping her situation. So in a bid to improve her life, she goes on a detox of sorts. That also includes fixing her relationship with her mother. Though not a lot of time is spent dwelling on that.
As you can imagine, Daphne is not that strong-willed and during a house party meets Frank (Sebastian Stan). Trying to be good she only texts him, until she can't stay away and soon Daphne and Frank are rollin' in the hay.
At virtually the same time, she meets Jack (Jamie Dornan). A perfectly nice guy, she doesn't realise that he is Frank's best friend until it is too late and she has slept with them both. It wouldn't be a problem if she was honest about it. But she lies to Jack and for some unknown reason, can't stay away from Frank.
Ultimately, Daphne has some hard choices to make, and the movie sort of ends on an odd note. Resolved but not really. The problem is that I didn't really care. Endings, Beginnings is a movie so indulgent and superficial that I cannot believe I actually sat through it all. Attempting some art-house style indie flick, the camera work is all over the place. You almost get dizzy from the constant movement and odd angles of profile shots. So much so that you never even see one normal conversation.
You could almost get past that if the characters weren't so god damn awful. Seriously, when the sister actually says she can't see their mother because her zen is in a good place and she will only get triggered, and is serious, then you get the gist of the movie. I get the idea of the film, it just goes nowhere and has no point.
