The End: not the 'uncompromising masterpiece' it aspires to be
Post-apocalyptic musical has an excellent cast – but is 'catastrophically self-indulgent'

Joshua Oppenheimer's film is billed as a "post-apocalyptic musical" with a "bold vision", said Deborah Ross in The Spectator. Now, I am all for "bold visions", but maybe not if they have no plot and run for two and a half hours (I really feared "The End" might never end).
'Comically bad'
Set two decades after a species-obliterating environmental catastrophe, it follows the lives of an ultra-privileged trio who have taken refuge in an "exquisitely decorated" subterranean bunker: a former oil tycoon (Michael Shannon), who spends his days drafting a self-exculpatory autobiography; his wife (Tilda Swinton), a former ballerina who claims to have performed with the Bolshoi; and their son (George MacKay), who has never known life beyond the walls of their sanctuary, and entertains himself by building models of what life might be like outside it.
They are cared for by various servants and spend their days in idle luxury, occasionally performing musical numbers – but not very competently: one dance scene is "so comically bad that I only hope (and pray) that it was intentional".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Sharp as sushi knives'
The action "jolts forward" when an outsider (Moses Ingram) somehow enters the bunker, said Danny Leigh in the Financial Times. The cast – MacKay in particular – are "sharp as sushi knives" and it all looks superb.
But sadly "The End" is not the "uncompromising masterpiece" it aspires to be, said Wendy Ide in The Observer. Oppenheimer's decision to frame a "story of guilt, grief, eco-disaster and the unimaginable cost of privilege" as a musical falls flat: put simply, its songs "just aren't very good". And though the film has moments of brilliance, it is too long and "catastrophically self-indulgent". What is really "frustrating", however, is just "how close it comes to greatness".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid: 'more than just a novelty'
The Week Recommends Europe's first plug-in hybrid pickup is 'surprisingly agile'
-
6 lush homes in the trees
Feature Featuring a glass house in Texas and a home built for a Broncos quarterback in Colorado
-
Brooklyn vs. the Beckhams: trouble in paradise
In the Spotlight Scion of the Beckham clan and billionaire heiress wife Nicola Peltz staged an elaborate vow renewal – and none of his family were on the guest list
-
Alien: Earth – a 'bold' prequel to the space horror classic
The Week Recommends Set two years before Alien, new Disney show pays 'homage' to the original
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black Keys
Feature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'
Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more