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The central concept ofThe Endis so outlandish that one wants to embrace the movie sight unseen.
And yes, itisa musical.
To think this all leads to us, the parents delusionally croon to their child.
To think this all ends with you.
Only you as if theyre anointing him with a halo of flowers instead of foretelling his lonely death.
There are even a couple of scattershot dance numbers.
That the cast doesnt really consist of Broadway-ready actors adds that extra discordant note.
There is something discomfiting and funny about watching Michael Shannon venture to sing, as there should be.
Its sheer arrogance to think we control the fate of our planet.
He does something similar here, repeatedly cycling back to his ideas without really developing them.
This time, he doesnt have the complexity of reality to absorb us.
At two and a half very staid hours,The Endis a punishing picture.
Part of the problem has to do with the nature of the tale hes concocted.
Obviously,The Endis not trying to be realistic.
These are, to be clear, dumb questions; this is a movie, not a survival manual.
But hes done away with the complexity.
But for all the stuff it throws at us, the film is frustratingly, wearingly one-note.
