The Sense of an Ending (film)

Last updated

The Sense of an Ending
The Sense of an Ending poster.jpg
Poster
Directed by Ritesh Batra
Written by Nick Payne
Based on The Sense of an Ending
by Julian Barnes
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChristopher Ross
Edited byJohn F. Lyons
Music by Max Richter [1]
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 2 January 2017 (2017-01-02)(Palm Springs)
  • 10 March 2017 (2017-03-10)(United States)
  • 14 April 2017 (2017-04-14)(United Kingdom)
Running time
108 minutes [2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.5 million [3]

The Sense of an Ending is a 2017 mystery drama film directed by Ritesh Batra and written by Nick Payne, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Julian Barnes. The film stars Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, Billy Howle, Emily Mortimer and Michelle Dockery.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on 2 January 2017. It was released in the United States on 10 March 2017, by CBS Films and Lionsgate, and in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2017, by StudioCanal.

Plot

The story, told through Tony Webster's memories, and those of his friends, explores the imperfection and selectivity of memory, and the different recollections of past events, depending on the observer and the time since the event. Elements of the plot are used to compare the perhaps impossible problem of obtaining a definitive objective view of history with the similar difficulties involved in personal memory.

Elderly divorcé Anthony 'Tony' Webster runs a London camera shop and lives quietly. He receives a letter from the estate of Sarah Ford, the mother of his 1960s university girlfriend Veronica. To his surprise she has left him £500 and a diary, which is still with Veronica.

In flashback, we hear that Tony's Sixth Form classmate, Dobson, died from what many believed to be suicide after his girlfriend became pregnant. Tony's friend, the highly intelligent Adrian Finn, told their history teacher that in the absence of documentary evidence nobody will ever know the true reason for his suicide. Later, at the University of Bristol, Tony met Veronica, who introduced him to photography as a hobby. On a visit to her family, Veronica's attractive mother Sarah flirted with him but warned him "not to let Veronica get away with too much". As Tony left, Sarah gave him a horizontal wave at waist level. Tony was unsure if it was a flirtatious goodbye or a warning signal.

Veronica later broke up with Tony, having never had full sexual intercourse with him - until after their breakup. He received a letter from Adrian requesting his blessing for his new relationship with Veronica. At first he decided to respond positively, but then wrote an angry reply, writing of her being damaged and how even her mother had warned him about her, and wishing they would have a child which would pay for its parents' sins. He never heard back from either of them. Tony's two best friends from Sixth Form later informed him that Adrian, who had seemed happy and in love at first, had committed suicide. Tony believed that Veronica could have met Adrian through her brother Jack, who like Adrian studied at the University of Cambridge (but had previously told Tony he did not know Adrian), but they pointed out that Adrian and Veronica met through Tony.

In the present day, Tony tells his ex-wife Margaret about his relationship with Veronica for the first time. Tony reconnects with his two Sixth Form friends and they help him locate Veronica online. She is still angry at him, has burned Adrian's diary, which might have explained why he committed suicide, but hands him the angry letter he had written to her and Adrian. Spying on Veronica, Tony sees her with an intellectually disabled middle-aged man who bears a striking resemblance to, and is called, Adrian. Tony learns that the child is not Veronica's son but her younger half-brother, and guesses he is the son of Adrian and Veronica's mother, Sarah.

Tony's daughter Susie, whose pregnancy has been a subplot throughout the film, gives birth to a healthy boy. Tony writes to Veronica, apologising to her for what he did.

Cast

Production

On 8 February 2015, it was announced that Ritesh Batra would next direct a drama for Origin Pictures and BBC Films, based on the Julian Barnes' novel The Sense of an Ending , and scripted by Nick Payne. [4] On 11 May 2015, Jim Broadbent was cast in the film for the lead role, which BBC Films and FilmNation Entertainment would be financing, and FilmNation also handling the international sales. [5] David M. Thompson and Ed Rubin of Origin Pictures would finance the film. [5] On 6 August 2015, an ensemble cast was announced including Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Dockery, Billy Howle, Freya Mavor, and Joe Alwyn. [6] Lipsync Productions would also co-finance the film along with BBC Films and FilmNation Entertainment. [6] On 8 September 2015 CBS Films acquired the US distribution rights to the film. [7]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on 8 September 2015 in London and Bristol. [7] [8] Filming lasted for seven weeks. [6]

Release

It had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on 2 January 2017. [9] The film was released in the United States on 10 March 2017 [10] and in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2017. [11]

Reception

Box office

The Sense of an Ending grossed $1.3 million in the United States and Canada and $3.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $4.5 million. [3]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on 119 reviews, with an average rating of 6.42/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Anchored by a strong starring performance by Jim Broadbent, The Sense of an Ending proves consistently gripping even as it skims the narrative surface of its literary source material." [12] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 61 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Broadbent</span> British actor (born 1949)

James Broadbent is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, an International Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Rampling</span> English actress (born 1946)

Tessa Charlotte Rampling is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film Georgy Girl, which starred Lynn Redgrave. She soon began making French and Italian arthouse films, notably Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969) and Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter (1974). She went on to star in many European and English-language films, including Stardust Memories (1980), The Verdict (1982), Long Live Life (1984), and The Wings of the Dove (1997). In the 2000s, she became the muse of French director François Ozon, appearing in several of his films, notably Swimming Pool (2003) and Young & Beautiful (2013). On television, she is known for her role as Dr. Evelyn Vogel in Dexter (2013).

<i>Swimming Pool</i> (2003 film) Film by François Ozon

Swimming Pool is a 2003 erotic thriller film co-written and directed by François Ozon and starring Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier. The plot focuses on a British crime novelist, Sarah Morton, who travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the arrival of Julie, who claims to be the publisher's daughter, induces complications and a subsequent crime. Both lead characters are bilingual, and the film's dialogue is a mixture of French and English.

<i>Inkheart</i> 2003 young adult fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke

Inkheart is a 2003 young adult fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke, and is the first book of the Inkheart series, with Inkspell (2005) and Inkdeath (2007) succeeding it. The novel became one of the finalists of 2004 BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature and won the Flicker Tale Children's Book Award in 2006. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Dockery</span> English actress (born 1981)

Michelle Suzanne Dockery is an English actress. She is best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised her role in the films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

<i>Harriet the Spy</i> (film) 1996 film by Bronwen Hughes

Harriet the Spy is a 1996 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Bronwen Hughes in her feature film directorial debut, and starring Michelle Trachtenberg in her major film acting debut. It co-stars Rosie O'Donnell, J. Smith-Cameron, Gregory Smith, and Vanessa Lee Chester. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Louise Fitzhugh, the film follows a sixth-grade student who aspires to become a writer and spy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz McDonald</span> Fictional character from Coronation Street

Elizabeth "Liz" McDonald is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She is portrayed by Beverley Callard. She made her first appearance on 27 October 1989. Callard opted to leave the series, and Liz departed on 13 November 1998. Callard reprised the role for a short stint with Liz appearing between 6 October 2000 and 12 January 2001. Callard reprised the role for two separate stints between 19 November and 30 November 2003 and between 13 February and 22 March 2004. She returned on a permanent basis on 22 June 2004. Callard departed once again with Liz's final appearance airing on 14 April 2011. Callard reprised the role once again on a permanent basis and Liz returned on 14 October 2013. Callard announced her departure in November 2019, with her final scene broadcast on 17 June 2020.

<i>Cleanskin</i> (film) 2012 film

Cleanskin is a 2012 British spy thriller film written and directed by Hadi Hajaig and starring Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling, James Fox, Tuppence Middleton, Shivani Ghai and Michelle Ryan. The story is set in London. The film's title, "cleanskin", is a term for an undercover operative unknown to his or her targets, or, as more commonly used in the United Kingdom following the London bombings, an extremist with no previous convictions, so therefore unknown to national security's services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freya Mavor</span> Scottish actress

Freya Mavor is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Mini McGuinness in the E4 teen drama Skins and Daria Greenock in the HBO finance drama series Industry.

<i>The Sense of an Ending</i> 2011 novel by Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending is a 2011 novel written by British author Julian Barnes. The book is Barnes's eleventh novel written under his own name and was released on 4 August 2011 in the United Kingdom. The Sense of an Ending is narrated by a retired man named Tony Webster, who recalls how he and his clique met Adrian Finn at school and vowed to remain friends for life. When the past catches up with Tony, he reflects on the paths he and his friends have taken. In October 2011, The Sense of an Ending was awarded the Booker Prize. The following month it was nominated in the novels category at the Costa Book Awards.

<i>Restless</i> (TV series) 2012 British TV adaptation of the novel "Restless" by William Boyd

Restless is a 2012 British TV adaptation of William Boyd's espionage novel Restless (2006). Directed by Edward Hall, the film features Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell, Michelle Dockery, Michael Gambon and Charlotte Rampling. The two parts first aired on 27 and 28 December 2012 on BBC One.

<i>The Lunchbox</i> 2013 Indian film by Ritesh Batra

The Lunchbox is a 2013 drama film written and directed by Ritesh Batra. Produced by Guneet Monga, Anurag Kashyap and Arun Rangachari, The Lunchbox is an international co-production of studios in India, the US, Germany and France. It stars Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bharti Achrekar and Nakul Vaid in supporting roles.

Ritesh Batra is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Batra's Hindi-language debut feature film The Lunchbox premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won the Rail d’Or. Batra also won the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best First Feature Film in 2014. The Lunchbox was the highest-grossing foreign film in North America, Europe and Australia for 2014 grossing over US$25 Million. The film was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language in 2015.

<i>London Spy</i> British-American television series

London Spy is a British-American five-part drama television serial created and written by Tom Rob Smith that aired on BBC Two from 9 November until 7 December 2015. It was aired on Netflix in 2018.

<i>Queen of Earth</i> 2015 film by Alex Ross Perry

Queen of Earth is a 2015 American psychological thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Alex Ross Perry. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston and Patrick Fugit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Howle</span> English actor (born 1989)

William Walter Douglas Howle is an English actor. His films include On Chesil Beach (2017), The Seagull (2018), and Outlaw King (2018). On television, he is known for his roles in the E4 drama Glue (2014), MotherFatherSon (2019), the BBC miniseries The Serpent (2021), the BritBox thriller series The Beast Must Die (2021), and the Netflix mystery series The Perfect Couple (2024).

<i>Euphoria</i> (2017 film) 2017 film

Euphoria is a 2017 mystery drama film written and directed by Lisa Langseth in her English-language debut. An international co-production of Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, the film screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It received generally negative reviews.

Tess Frazer is an American actress from New York City. She is best known for starring alongside Michelle Dockery, Merritt Wever, and Jeff Daniels when playing Callie Dunne in the Emmy Award winning Netflix western TV miniseries Godless.

<i>Photograph</i> (film) 2019 Indian film

Photograph is a 2019 Indian romantic drama film written, co-produced and directed by Ritesh Batra. It stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra in the lead roles. The film follows a street photographer Rafi, who tries to convince Miloni to pose as his fiancee so that his grandmother stops pressuring him to get married.

<i>Anatomy of a Scandal</i> American drama television miniseries

Anatomy of a Scandal is an American thriller drama television miniseries developed by David E. Kelley and Melissa James Gibson, based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan. The series consists of six episodes, and premiered on Netflix on April 15, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Max Richter Scoring 'The Sense of an Ending' & FX's 'Taboo'". Film Music Reporter. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Sense of an Ending". Palm Springs International Film Festival . Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 "The Sense of an Ending (2017)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  4. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (8 February 2015). "Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra in talks to adapt The Sense of An Ending". screendaily.com. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 Siegel, Tatiana; McClintock, Pamela (11 May 2015). "Cannes: Jim Broadbent to Star in 'The Sense of an Ending' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Jaafar, Ali (6 August 2015). "Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, Emily Mortimer and Michelle Dockery Board 'The Sense Of An Ending'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  7. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (8 September 2015). "CBS Films Pre-Buys 'The Sense Of An Ending' – Toronto". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Evry, Max (8 September 2015). "The Sense of an Ending Starts Production, First Images of Michelle Dockery". comingsoon.net. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (15 December 2016). "Palm Springs Film Festival Lineup Set; 'The Sense Of An Ending' To Open, The Comedian' To Close". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  10. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (13 December 2016). "'The Sense Of An Ending' Trailer: Secrets Are Unearthed In Drama Starring Jim Broadbent & Charlotte Rampling". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Sense of an Ending". Studio Canal. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Sense of an Ending (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "The Sense of an Ending Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 30 March 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.