The End of It

Immortality sucks: that’s the message of this arty sci-fi with a bold turn from Rebecca Hall. Her character, an artist called Claire, lives in a future world that’s superficially like our own – the main difference being that all ailing organs and limbs can be replaced, and death is postponed indefinitely. The only way to die is to make the controversial choice to do so. 

After celebrating her 250th birthday with the same group of gorgeous, vacuous friends that come every year, Claire makes that choice. Everyone is baffled, including her husband (Gael García Bernal). But the decision lights a fire within Claire. As she approaches her death day, she begins to live freely and embrace the provocative art she was once known for, choosing to stage her death as a confronting performance, attracting fascination and an expanded fan base.

It’s a striking debut from writer-director Maria Martinez Bayona with a fearless performance from Hall, as Claire rebels against convention and reflects on her life. She’s a fish out of water, the only one who can see the absurdity around her. While it’s very much its own film, The End of It calls to mind sci-fis such as Logan’s Run (1976), in which society decrees its citizens must die at the age of 30. It might sound like the reverse of that, but Claire’s world is still controlling, suffocating and mind-numbing. 

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While it’s tempting to compare this to the work of Yorgos Lanthimos, it’s perhaps more accurate to reference Tony McNamara, who wrote Lanthimos’s The Favourite and Poor Things: this is a surreal black comedy with a refreshing gender dynamic. Claire is the strongest character in her household, which also includes a robot assistant played by a deadpan Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart). She bucks the long-held movie tradition of sexualised fembots, offering a richer take on the relationship between a programmed being and its owner - especially given that the owner’s body is made up of artificial replacements. If you’re after a smart take on AI, you’ve got it.

When Claire’s daughter arrives for a surprise visit, she’s played by Noomi Rapace, an actress who’s slightly older than Hall (everyone freezes at their mid to late forties, it seems). Without the visual aid of a parent and child being obviously different ages, it throws the relationship into sharp relief, and invites questions about parenthood, entitlement and legacy. Bernal puts in a suitably restrained turn, and refreshingly, the camera makes no effort to hide the fact that Hall is several inches taller than him. This is the women’s show, and it’s as bracing, unsettling and enjoyably weird as its nihilistic heroine.

The End of It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.