A revision of the manic pixie dream girl in Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
It is widely known by film buffs and academics alike that the manic pixie dream girl is a treacherous representation of women in the media, especially in feature films. They are an easily conceivable, bi-dimensional portrayal of an idealistic, grown-up Lolita type of woman whose main goal is to support, please and rectify the broken and hopeless male — the main character. She is sweet, usually in a good mood, she is embarrassingly quirky, yet, sexy. With that being said, she does not have — or seem to have — a life of her own. Her story revolves around a guy and she leaves it off with little to no development.
“Sometimes, the apparently ideal “girl” can turn out to be manipulative, dragging him close to insanity or murdering him.”
The deconstruction of the aforementioned trope, be it intentional or not, is neither a rare nor a recent phenomenon, but it is seldom done with maestry by screenwriters and producers. When the storytelling follows a male protagonist, characters like Clementine (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Summer (500 Days of Summer), Samantha (Her) and Ava (Ex-Machina) are hard to find. They refuse to play the emotional support who nurtures their “lover”’s emotions. They show him that even a seemingly perfect woman (or machine who depicts the female sex) has feelings, flaws, desires, and a mind equally complex and turbulent as his own. Sometimes, the apparently ideal “girl” can turn out to be manipulative, dragging him close to insanity or murdering him.
Like all other movies written or adapted by Kaufman, his new feature film is a confusing story to watch. Mostly, because we are mislead from the beginning and believe the woman is the main character. She is the one who initializes the movie by claiming she wants to end things, after all. But no: soon we, viewers, start to suspect that things are not what they seem. She might as well be a recollection of some old janitor’s past relationships, perhaps a girlfriend who commited suicide or who was murdered by him (hey, anything is possible!).
“We watch her slowly lose her identity and unravel into what she truly is: the amalgamation of the janitor’s ideal women.”
As the plot thickens with its twists and mind games, a tenacious viewer might spot the contrast and similarities between Jessie Buckley’s character and the average manic pixie trope. Although she is trapped inside Jake’s mind through a “connection”, she seems to rebel against him. Though she wants to mend him, she is also broken. She tries to understand him, only to question her own self and the world around her. In summary, we watch her slowly lose her identity and unravel into what she truly is: the amalgamation of the janitor’s ideal women. As a product of an old man’s mind, she shifts names, professions, interests, moods and tones as the storyline progresses and the blizzard gets worse.
What is so fascinating about I’m Thinking of Ending Things, through this perspective, is that the young woman is what said female character trope is at its core. Her own existence — or lack of — is a byproduct of a man’s inconstancies, regrets, memories and wants. And with a convulsive mind like his, what’s to expect rather than dread?
