The Sense of an Ending Movie Review

The Sense of an Ending (2017)

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Written by: Julian Barnes (novel), Nick Payne (adaptation, screenplay)
Directed by: Ritesh Batra
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, Michelle Dockery, MAtthew Goode, Emily Mortimer
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.

Verdict
It's a rumination on the past. A letter forces Tony to recall people from which he's long since grown apart. It's a train of thought movie without an overarching plot as we bounce around among Tony's memories. He's reached the age where past choices haunt him as he wonders how life could have been different if he had made other choices. H knows he's made some mistakes. Overall, it's just not engrossing enough. It's like reading someone's journal. It's most interesting to the author as they discover long forgotten memories. It likely worked better as a book.
Skip it.

Review
Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent) receives a letter that kicks off the plot. It's from an old friend that recently passed away. From there Tony reminisces about his past from grade school to university and how quickly time passes. We see snippets from Tony's past of himself, his friends, and his girlfriend. He didn't have a reason to think of them until this letter brought all those memories to the forefront.

A focus of this movie is how memories can be personal. How Tony remembers events may not be how others remember them. The other aspect Tony had forgotten or perhaps suppressed is how a letter he wrote ended a relationship. Tony feels guilt for that, and you wonder if that's a reason why in his memory he didn't introduce the two people. Admitting that would force him to confront how his link to them ended.

Jim Broadbent plays Tony Webster

This is a train of though movie as we see what runs through Tony's mind. Some scenes repeat as the ideas repeat in his mind, plaguing him. This movie is nostalgia for Tony. Being divorced, he wonders if he should have stayed with his college girlfriend. At his age, he's reflecting on life, wondering if he made the right choices.

It's a neat idea, that other people have different recollections and that what Tony remembers may not be the way events played out. I expect this works better as a book. Introspection is easier in that format. Tony's wiser, considering his successes and mistakes. That's shown in his ruminations of the past and his current state. His daughter is pregnant, and we know he wouldn't trade that away despite the missteps of the past.