The consequence of life is death, which is a price we all inevitably have to pay. For about as long as we have been conscious beings, there has been discussion around what precisely the meaning of life is, a debate that has been raging for millennia. Yet, despite some of the most intelligent and insightful thinkers pondering this subject, we are not any close to solving perhaps the most elusive mystery known to us, which has essentially allowed us to become more cynical as beings, as well as having even more disregard for our surroundings. The world is gradually being destroyed by our selfishness, and we’ve essentially gone past the point of no return, and simply now have to live with the results of prior and current generations. Yet, it’s not us who will bear the brunt of this harsh reality, but rather those who come after us and have to inhabit a world that has been methodically annihilated by those who did not heed the warning of the people who attempted to dissuade us from continuing on this path. This unquestionably heavy preamble is necessary to establish the themes presented throughout The End, a film in which Joshua Oppenheimer (known for his masterful documentaries The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence) makes his narrative feature debut, which is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape where some of the sole survivors are a wealthy family, who have been living in an underground bunker for over twenty years, secure from the arid conditions outside, and more than content to spend their days engaging in meaningless chatter, all the while yearning for the freedom they know is not possible for them. When a mysterious young woman finds her way into their lives, the family begins to realize there is a way forward for them, even if they are not brave enough to leap into the unknown, leading to a series of existential crises within each one of them as they come to terms with the fact that this is indeed the end for them, and any hope for a better life was extinguished years ago when they directly aided in the deconstruction of our beautiful world, and now have to pay the consequences. A daring, unconventional film that proves that Oppenheimer is as original a voice with a fictional story as he is with his documentaries, The End is a fascinating achievement, albeit one that keeps its cards very close to its chest for the most part, leading to quite a bewildering but still compelling experience.

A quarter of the way into the 21st century, we are certainly not experiencing a shortage of works that act as cautionary tales against the destruction humans are doing to the earth, to the point where some have actively shown aggression and disdain to those who preach what is essentially a lost cause. I am not normally one to take a more pessimistic worldview, but even the most upbeat of individuals cannot deny that there is something genuinely unsettling about how we are destroying the planet, and how so many people choose to just take a completely apathetic approach is frankly terrifying, since it stems from the knowledge that we currently exist in that ambigious space where we are aware that we have gone past the point of salvation, but are also not likely to experience the horrors that are to come, which has allowed many individuals to simply throw up their arms and resign to the fact that we are headed for certain doom, but that it will be those in future generations that will have to deal with this burden. It’s a terrifying concept and something that Oppenheimer is very much focused on exploring throughout this film, with The End being yet another attempt to warn audiences about the dangers of living this destructive life in which very few efforts are being made to reverse the impact of our selfish actions that are causing our world to gradually grow more diseased. This film takes place in the aftermath of this destruction, where society has slowly begun to rebuild itself, albeit in a radically different way, and where it seems like those who can procreate are the envy of whatever remnants are left of humanity, whereas those who can’t simply settle into their eventual fate, knowing that they are not long for this earth. The thematic content that propels The End is fascinating – some of its views are slightly restrictive and perhaps lean too heavily into the gloom of the entire scenario (although climate change and the annihilation of the planet is certainly not cause for levity by any means), but the overall intentions are not only powerful, they’re frankly essential and tell a story that is far more disorienting, touching on pressing issues that are worth discussing in absolutely every form.

The major allure of The End comes not in the fact that arguably one of the greatest living documentarians has made a sojourn into the realm of the fictional (although based on the thematic content, the extent to which this is a work of fiction remains to be seen), but rather how he does it, which entails understanding several of his unique artistic decisions in crafting this film. Primarily, The End catches our attention based on it being a musical – the concept of a group of characters lamenting the end of the world through a series of lavish song-and-dance numbers is so absurd, that its ambition is simply impossible to deny. The reasons for making this a musical are not explicitly stated, but we can use some critical thinking to see precisely why Oppenheimer would choose this specific approach. It was undeniably a more difficult endeavour since it is an original musical and therefore required over a dozen new songs to be written that are both sonically interesting and relevant to the overarching themes, but it’s this effort that makes it such an intriguing work since we suddenly are forced to pay attention to its ideas, rather than just dismissing it as yet another effort to preach about an issue none of us can necessarily resolve. The sheer audacity that went into this film is worth every bit of our attention, and while some of it is undeniably difficult to comprehend in terms of character motivations and the mythology of this post-apocalyptic world that Oppenheimer creates which are not as well-conceived as we may have imagined, but its easy to overlook these small deficiencies when we are presented with something so extraordinarily ambitious and daring that we begin to wonder how anything else could have possibly emerged from such an offbeat premise. It does veer towards the more melodramatic, being more of an opera than an entertaining revue, which gives it a sense of gravity that ultimately works in favour of highlighting the sombre subject matter, and which the director masterfully weaves into a narrative that benefitted massively from such enormous artistic gumption, which is utilized exceptionally well, even when it can start to feel like the artifice is distracting from the vital conversations being conducted throughout the film. It’s a truly daring work, and one that becomes more intriguing the further we venture inwards and allow it to take hold of our psyche.

Oppenheimer was fortunate enough to recruit quite an impressive cast to bring The End to life, which is anchored by Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon, both actors who have considerable experience playing peculiar characters, but here are oddly cast in roles that are quite simple and grounded within reality. The eccentricities of this film are not found in the characters, who are certainly very normal, but rather in their surroundings. These are ordinary people who have quite literally dug themselves into a precarious situation, and now have to deal with the consequences they have encountered as a result. Neither are trained singers or dancers, but the film doesn’t require this from any of the actors hearing imperfect voices emerging out of these actors adds layers of humanity to the story, making it clear that this is grounded within reality, with only marginal flights of fancy as far as the story is concerned. It’s a piece of speculative fiction that is based around recognizable characters, and both Swinton and Shannon do their best to make them memorable. They’re joined by George Mackay, who has steadily grown to become one of the most undeniably gifted actors of his generation, bringing such warmth and humanity to a role that would otherwise be one-dimensional, while the best addition to the cast is the more unexpected Bronagh Gallagher, a working character actor who has not been prominent in a lot of films, but yet acts as the heart and soul of The End, playing the empathetic friend to the matriarch who does not realize the value of a good companion, instead being blinded by her selfishness that eventually leads her to realize the errors of her ways. The ensemble, in The End,is vital to its success, and while they’re all decidedly not professionals as far as musical performances go, they bring a sense of genuine authenticity to the roles, particularly when it comes to the emotional content, which every one of them manages to beautifully capture throughout the film, each small detail being reflected in their stunning, compelling performances.

There are certainly shortcomings in The End, a film that is made by someone who has not yet helmed a narrative feature, and who chose to throw himself into the deep end by taking a series of wild gambles throughout, which logically resulted in a film that has a few notable imperfections, primarily in its narrative. However, the main attraction here is not the songwriting or the themes, but rather sheer ambition, especially since it is attempting to be a genuinely bespoke piece of off-the-wall artistry that is not interested in playing by the rules, but instead attempting to infuse the medium with a sense of madcap, offbeat energy that doesn’t quite fit into any preconceived categories, and instead flourishes into something all of its own. There’s a sense of originality behind this film that extends beyond the bespoke creative and musical elements, and instead speaks to the heart of the story, which is more than just a cautionary tale about how we are the devices of our destruction, but also a harrowing existential odyssey in which the most disconcerting aspects of our species is made abundantly clear, and our bleak future laid out in vivid, colourful detail. It’s not a film that takes its subject matter lightly, nor one that intends to be flippant about the material – instead, it’s an ambitious experimental work that finds the director proving his mettle as a narrative filmmaker, weaving a fascinating story about the human condition and how we handle the realization that we are not only mortal but that the world we cherish is being destroyed by our own hands. Walking a narrative tonal tightrope between intimidating and enticing, The End is a peculiar work, and one that understands that every viewer is going to form a different relationship with these characters and their story, so the focus is on doing something more complex, while still making it universally resonant. Hauntingly beautiful and wildly audacious, Oppenheimer achieved something quite remarkable with this film, which I suspect is only going to become more relevant as time progresses and we see these themes reflect even more in our daily lives.