When it comes to Tilda Swinton films, you can be sure — we'll be looking at something eccentric, stylish and multi-layered. The End is exactly that. The new project by director Joshua Oppenheimer promises an original mix of musical, satire and philosophical reflection on the future of humanity.
The film is set in a world after a global catastrophe. However, there is no survival genre typical for this film — the main characters have not even seen the devastation, because they are locked in a luxurious bunker. A former oil tycoon, his wife and their son are accustomed to comfort, and the only outsiders in their world are a doctor and a butler.
The heir to the family does not even know that there is another world outside this protected refuge. But the usual order of things collapses when a mysterious girl, who somehow managed to survive the catastrophe, gets to them.
The film seems to play with the idea of social isolation and privilege, exacerbating the difference between those who remained at the top of the food chain and those who did not. This is not just a comedy, but rather a black satire, filled with absurdity and ridiculous, but true situations.
Joshua Oppenheimer is a well-known name in documentary filmmaking. His films The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence are powerful and tough stories nominated for Oscars. But after a ten-year break, the director changed his vector and went into feature films. Why did he choose a post-apocalyptic musical?
“Musicals are false hope,” the director explains. “They make us believe in the best even when everything is falling apart. That’s why the family in the film sings about a bright future, standing on the edge of the abyss.”
Oppenheimer worked on the script with Rasmus Heisterber, the author of the adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Japanese screenwriter Shusaku Harada, for whom this is his first major project.
If Tilda Swinton is in a movie, expect something unusual. In The End, she plays the Mother, Michael Shannon plays the Father, and George MacKay is the Son. The main intrigue is the Girl who turns the heroes' world upside down. She is played by Moses Ingram. Other characters include the butler played by Tim McInnerny, the doctor by Lenny James, and a family friend played by Bronagh Gallagher. The End will be released on February 27. The film promises to be one of the most talked about films of February — a musical, dystopia, comedy, social commentary, and all in one project. And with such a cast and ambitions, it should at least be spectacular.
