Five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
I can't speak to its veracity, but I loved Segel's work here, playing Wallace as someone who over-analyzed everything, to a compulsive, near paralyzing degree, while still managing to be the most interesting, literary guy in the room.
It's a movie that makes thoughtful drama out of the essential insanity of celebrity journalism, wherein a star proclaims humility while a scribbler promises idolatry.
The beautifully shot film is endearing and relatable, director James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) has definitely delivered something that is really special.
Taken as a film about two fictional characters, "The End of the Tour" is a stimulating delight. But it's awfully hard to call it a true honor to its subject's memory.
Strong performances from the lead actors anchor the film, but the world depicted is rather too hermetic for anyone not immediately interested in the subject matter.
By the time we're at the end of 'The End of the Tour,' it's arrived at something thoughtful and true about being a writer-and, even better, about being a real person.
The performances, the writing, the direction, Segel's D.F.W. impression, everything is just fine. But The End of the Tour is disgraceful. It feels like it's towing out the real Wallace's ghost to perform some soppy parody of himself.
