nick flames The End of the Tour is a biographical film about the late David Foster Wallace which is directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Donald Margulies and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel. Watching this film being born in the early 21st century I had no prior knowledge to the works of David Foster Wallace and now that I have seen the film I believe that I understand more than just his life story but his outlook on himself and his life which I find is quite unique in the biographical movie genre. What makes this film standout from most biographical movies is it screenplay by Donald Margulies as instead of telling Foster's story using events in his life like on a Wikipedia page he chooses the bolder route of slowly telling you about his motivations through conversations between the two leads, these conversations that make up the film (as there isn't a truly clear narrative) are what made the movie as good as it is, as there organic nature makes the audience feel as if they are sitting down next to them making the characters both more realistic and likable. Prior to this film I would have never thought that Jason Segel would have had the acting ability to play a highly intelligent yet broken person like David Foster Wallace and in fact I chose not to watch the film with my sister expecting it to be a road trip comedy with the raunchiness of one of his previous films forgetting Sarah Marshall, but while watching this film I was both amazed and surprised by how well Jason Segel pulled of a character who was so different to anything he had every done before, in fact I would say that the only comedic actors to do a serious performance to that level would be Jonah Hill in Moneyball and Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Starring next Jason Segel is Jesse Eisenberg playing the rolling stone reporter David Lipsky; he also gives a great performance reminiscent to my favorite performance of his in The Social Network capturing the Ambitions in depth just enough to service the story. But the finest acting element was the fact that both actors had great chemistry making spending time with their characters engaging. On top of the acting and the screenplay the movie also standouts through the directing by James Ponsoldt. Unlike the acting and the screenplay the directing doesn't pop out of the screen and for some viewers that will be seen as a flaw but it actually suits the story as a stylistic approach to this film would have tarnished the realistic themes. The approach of the directing is to make you feel as if you're not inside one of the characters head but more a person sitting down and having a conversation with them and it is pulled off to a tremendous effect with James Ponsoldt using subtle camera angles and few tracking shots. In review I found the movie a breath of fresh air from the over saturated biographical movie genre and is a great film if you're either a fan of David Foster Wallace or just like intellectual character studies. I would recommend watching this film while wide awake as the film has an abundance of important snappy dialogue that is easy to miss.

keithbrown-90195 I haven't read any David Foster Wallace so the premise of this movie never really appealed to me. Yet when I found out it was directed by James Ponsoldt it immediately jumped to the front of my queue. His previous movie, The Spectacular Now, is one of the greatest coming of age movies I've ever seen. The End of the Tour features a lot of great dialogue, many of the conversations covering topics that reveal a lot, but hide even more. I feel like the movie is about the simple conflict of who you present to the world against who you feel you truly are. Jason Segel was amazing in this, disappearing into his role and making you forget all about his previous roles in Apatow comedies. I highly recommend this movie for anyone wishing to be challenged or who wishes to take in a great conversation starter.

brando647 There was a lot of positive buzz surrounding THE END OF THE TOUR and I don't know that I've ever seen Jason Segal in anything close to a dramatic role, so it was only a matter of time before I got around to watching it. I was also totally unfamiliar with the work of David Foster Wallace; I don't know that I'd even heard of "Infinite Jest" before this movie came around. Thankfully, you don't need to be preloaded with any of this knowledge to enjoy director James Ponsoldt's THE END OF THE TOUR, a delightfully engaging biographical slice of life. Told from the perspective of Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg), the film follows him as he joins Wallace (Jason Segal) on the final stop of his book tour for "Infinite Jest". The two of them travel to Minneapolis together as Lipsky documents the journey for his article, and the two of them straddle a fine line between interviewer/subject, friends, and fellow writers. The movie gives some interesting insight into Wallace as a person and might even shed some light on the thought process behind "Infinite Jest", though I wouldn't know because I tried reading the novel after having seen the movie and only got as far as 185 pages or so before I had to set it down indefinitely. But this isn't a book review; I am here to share what I thought of Ponsoldt's film and the short version would be that it feels very personal.The majority of the film is just Eisenberg and Segal in assorted discussions set in a sequence of set pieces. This is a dialogue and performance driven film. Remember, it's a biographical pic about an author, not a war veteran. THE END OF THE TOUR is based on the real Lipsky's memoir where he discusses the time he spent with Wallace, getting to the core of what made this best-selling author tick. From what the movie offers, Wallace is a fascinating individual. He's soft spoken, intelligent, and can come across as stand-offish if you aren't familiar with him. He's a troubled man with a problematic past that he's worked to overcome but, at least in the context of the film, the question is what sort of demons the man wrestled with. Lipsky knows he will have to ask the tough questions at some point if he wants his article to see the light of day, but it's not so easy to broach those subjects when the two of them seem to hit it off pretty well from the start. Still, it's not long before Wallace is reminded that Lipsky is a man with an agenda. He's here for an interview and he can shape it in any way he pleases, and there's always a lingering tension over what Wallace feels comfortable discussing as a result. Segal does a phenomenal job as Wallace, disappearing into the character with ease. Once he dons the bandanna, glasses, and long hair, Segal adopts a softer voice and a social awkwardness and the character of Wallace emerges.I don't know that I'm as keen on Eisenberg as I am Segal, but I'm having a hard time deciding if it has anything to do with his performance or if it's just that I don't like his character. Honestly, it might just be that. I find that I sympathize with Wallace so much that I'm just as anxious about Lipsky's intentions as he is. He's not a bad person; in fact, he arrives in Illinois to find Wallace with an air of excitement. To him, Wallace is a celebrity and a man who's succeeded in the same field Lipsky hopes to break in to (i.e. writing). I believe the film implies Lipsky has only recently started at Rolling Stone so Wallace (the first author to be interviewed for the magazine) might be his big break in addition to giving him a chance to pick the man's brain on the most successful novel of the period. The two of them have an interesting chemistry together and it makes the film what it is. It was also intriguing enough that I wanted to know more about Wallace once it was over. He seemed like such a complex person, I'm curious to learn what drove him to his eventual suicide. Like I said, I wasn't able to get too far into "Infinite Jest" on my first attempt but every time I watch THE END OF THE TOUR I go back and read a little further. I would certainly recommend the movie to any interested party; if anything about what I've mentioned sounds at all of interest to you, I think it's worth checking out.

eddie_baggins For an actor whose best known in a feature film sense for showcasing his unmentionables to Kristen Bell in the 2008 hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason Segel's performance in James Ponsoldt's The End of the Tour easily marks itself down as one of 2015's most pleasantly surprising and sadly forgotten about performances and helps make this tale of Segel's author David Foster Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg's Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky's whirlwind trip together a quietly powerful character study.Following on from his fine work with his leads in the great 2013 romantic drama The Spectacular Now, Ponsoldt and his performers help make End of the Tour an attention commanding experience through virtually nothing more than conversations, carefully crafted scripting and a care for its subjects. Those going into End of the Tour expecting an event filled cross country trip will be left sorely disappointed by Ponsoldt's unconventional take on the life affirming/mismatched buddy film but for those that get swept away by its low key approach, the work by Segel and Eisenberg will be a joy to behold.The somewhat reclusive David Foster Wallace is the type of real life character that requires a layered and measured approach by an actor to inhabit and that's what we get from Segel. It's an awards worthy turn that in a higher profile event would've likely garnered him some well-deserved attention and it's hopefully a kicking off point for the next stage of his career in more intimately affecting portrayals. Helping Segel's complicated turn along on its way is Eisenberg who more recently has become a little bit of a self-imitating concern (hello Batman V Superman) but it's great to see him tone it down to play quietly mannered Lipsky and between the two actors we get a respectful double act that deals effectively with loneliness, depression and what it means to be a writer.The End of the Tour isn't a film for those looking for a point A to point B look at Foster Wallace's life or a film for those looking for more than heavy conversation led scenes but Ponsoldt's film is a showcase for powerful storytelling without dramatization and a shining of the light into another side of Jason Segel, which thankfully doesn't include more Forgetting Sarah Marshall type flesh baring. End of the Tour is absolutely one of 2015's underseen gems.4 late night service station snack runs out of 5