Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HOW IT ENDS [Sundance Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The idea of perception of self sometimes is a hard approach to make self apparent on screen. With "How It Ends" [Premieres], spouses/filmmakers Daryl Wein & Zoey Lister Jones create a heartfelt and yet remarkably vibrant story literally walking the streets above Los Angeles (likely above Sunset). The idea of a second self might seem a little but Cailee Spaeny as Zoe Lister Jones' younger self becomes really self evident and integrated immediately. While the film is filled with a barrage of great actor cameos in their own would-be vignettes, Spaeney is an unbelievable bright light. While she has been good in many of her roles including "Devs" and "Battle At The El Royale" as well as "Pacific Rim: Uprising" (which we spoke to her for), this film really allows her to breathe in maybe a way she hasn't been seen before with the breathe of emotion, levitY and heart she is capable of. Hopefully this will be even more of a beacon to let her become the actor she will be. The banter between Lister-Jones and her is great and LA cinefiles will notice different streets they can see as their own. Made during the pandemic, there is a real sense of intimacy and bringing together friends that happened to be close by (likely since the film was shot in available with likely small DSLR camera but is unbelievably crisp). Seeing Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Charlie Day playing a couple (they are married in real life) outside the "Sunny" context is awesome. It feels like there was alot of improvisation in many scenes and yet the text was definitely there. The energy between every actor and Zoe (and by extension Cailee) is great but the two that stand out is Helen Hunt as her mother as well as Olivia Wilde as a friend she lost. The witty banter rapid fire style shows a side of Wilde we have not seen in a minute because her roles really haven't allowed for it (not in a bad way -- just the characters like in "Richard Jewell" don't do banter in that way). Hunt is able to shift from humor or drama but Spaeney definitely becomes thr spark point with her with that scene. Like the pandemic structure, the story points to an end that is coming but not in the way we think. In that way it is hopeful despite the resolution of the central character to be who she is despite the certainty of tomorrow. A-

By Tim Wassberg