User reviews

Everyone is a storyteller in their own way. Some use the big screen, others a book or a painter's canvas, but most of us tell stories to ourselves. In 1967, acclaimed literary theorist Professor Frank Kermode published a seminal book called The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction. He argued that we all internally write the fictions of our lives into a coherent pattern so things appear to have a logical beginning, a middle and an ending. We do this for one simple reason: to make it possible to "coexist with temporal chaos" and to "humanise the common death". This philosophical insight inspired the 2011 Julian Barnes novel of the same name that is now adapted in the film The Sense of an Ending (2017). Joining these dots help us to understand what this film is about.

The film plot is simple but the story complex. Retired divorcée Tony (Jim Broadbent) is known as a curmudgeon by his ex-wife Margaret (Harriet Walter) and daughter Suzie (Michelle Dockery). He busies himself in his tiny shop selling second-hand Leica cameras when one day a lawyer's letter arrives that reopens memories of his first love. What follows is a jigsaw of glimpses into an old man's obsessive quest for redemption as he becomes haunted by an act of spite that he believes led to the suicide of his best friend. When he renews contact with his first love Veronica (Charlotte Rampling) he must confront unresolved emotions that were buried beneath the fictions he has constructed about his life.

This slow and serious film is not for everyone. Younger people are too busy making memories to be rewriting the story of their lives. Older audiences will recognise what Tony is experiencing and empathise with his need for a 'sense of an ending'. Despite the film's stellar cast and fine acting, none of the characters are especially likable, so it is possible to leave this film disengaged with the people while having been thoroughly immersed in the story. This is a well-directed dialogue-driven film. Its multiple flashbacks capture the disjointed half recalled fragments that many of us store as life memories. Most of all, it is an introspective and insightful essay on how we make sense of our lives.

Greetings again from the darkness. In 1967 Cat Stevens wrote "The First Cut is the Deepest" and the song has since been recorded by many artists (including Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crowe). The song's title is also an apt description of director Ritesh Batra's film version of the popular 2011 novel from Julian Barnes. It's one man's look back at the impact of his impulsive actions more than 50 years ago.

"When we are young, we want emotions to be like what we read in books". So says the narrator and lead character Tony Webster (as played by Jim Broadbent). Tony runs a tiny second hand camera store (specializing in Leica models) while leading a mostly benign life – rising daily at 7:00am, coffee with his ex-wife, and periodic errands for his pregnant daughter. One day a certified letter arrives notifying him that he has been named in the Last Will and Testament of the mother of a girl he dated while at University. And so begins the trek back through Tony's history and memories.

Of course, a film version can never quite cut as deeply as a novel, but this preeminent cast works wonders in less than two hours. Curmudgeonly Tony is accessible and somewhat sympathetic thanks to the stellar work of Mr. Broadbent, who always seems to find the real person within his characters. Harriet Walther ("The Crown") turns in a tremendous performance as Margaret, Tony's most patient and quite wise ex-wife. Michelle Dockery ("Downton Abbey") is their pregnant 36 year old daughter Susie, and just these three characters could have provided a most interesting story. The film's best scenes feature the comfort and familiarity of a once-married couple, as Tony and Harriet talk through previously never mentioned topics. However, there is so much more to explore here as Tony's thoughts bring the past splashing right smack dab into the present.

Billy Howle does a nice job as young Tony, an aspiring poet, who falls hard for the enigmatic Veronica (Freya Mavor). Complications arise when Tony spends a weekend with Veronica at her parents' estate. It's here that Emily Mortimer energizes things (and clouds thoughts) with minimal screen time as Veronica's mother. It's also around this time where new student Adrian Finn (played by Joe Alwyn of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) captures Tony's imagination and a friendship bond is formed … only to be later shattered in a most painful manner.

There is so much going on that director Batra's (The Lunchbox, 2013) low-key approach is often misleading. Looking back on one's life can lead to the twisted version that our mind has edited/revised in order to make things seem better or worse – definitely more colorful – than they likely were at the time. Tony's distorted view of history crumbles when documented proof of his actions is presented at his first face to face meeting with Veronica (the great Charlotte Rampling) in five decades. It's at this point that regret and guilt rise up, and the only question remaining is whether this elderly man can overcome his repressed emotions and self-centeredness in order to make the best of what time he has left. Each of us has a life journey, and though few of us ever actually tell the story, there are undoubtedly numerous lessons to be had with an honest look back.

Rhitesh Batra's film 'The Sense of an Ending' is based on a Booker-prize winning novel by Julian Barnes. Oddly, I've read almost the entirity of Barnes's oevre, but nor this work, which tells of an old man suddenly reconnected to his distant past. His enthusiasm for revisiting his old life might partly be due to his present-day loneliness, and partly due to his own capacity for re-imagining his history through a lense of nostalgia and heroism (indeed, his self-justifying self-absorption goes a long way to explaining exactly why is he now alone). So he begins a journey that will take him to uncomfortable and unexpected places. But in the film, the character (played by Jim Broadbent, possibly not the optimal choice for the role) is so obviously bumptious and narcicisstic that our sense of shock is undermined; he learns things about himself (in the specific) that were (in the general) already obvious to us. Another limitation is that although the adult characters are fully formed (and the two female leads in particular are well realised), their younger selves (who appear in flashback) remain thin and weakly sketched. I still quite enjoyed the movie; but it made we want to read the book where I suspect Barnes might have managed things better.

Scriptwriter Nick Payne transformed Julian Barnes's prize-winning novel into this movie directed by Ritesh Batra about a self-absorbed Londoner and his growing obsession with a woman from his distant past. It appears he'd much rather be living there, with the frisson of youth and the sixties—than in his current divorced, not especially accomplished, late-middle-age state. Tony Webster (played superbly by James Broadbent) becomes a voyeuristic observer of the life that might have been. He receives an unexpected letter from his former girlfriend's mother telling him she's bequeathed him the diary of his youthful best friend—the best friend who stole the girlfriend from him. It's an odd thing, but he becomes determined to get that diary, while the ex-girlfriend (Charlotte Rampling) is determined he not have it. The conflict sparks many nostalgic reminiscences about those days. It transpires that events were shatteringly different from how he has understood them all along. Meanwhile, his ex-wife (Harriet Walter, who is in everything lately) is onto him, and his daughter (Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey's Lady Mary) is about to yank him back into the present by producing a grandchild. Again, the cast is terrific, even if Webster himself is annoyingly oblivious, and the source material is strong. I have not read the book, but apparently Julian Barnes told the filmmakers not to be constrained by his text: "Throw the book against the wall," he said. The critics seem to think they followed that advice rather too well.

I am unable to find anything that hasn't already been said about this gem of a film. Take a hint by reading the well worded and postured positive reviews and contrasting them against the small minded negative ones; The Sense of an Ending is a film that will get you to think and feel - and maybe relate. It's upsetting, humorous, remorseful and hopeful.

I am rating this introspective tale a well-deserved 7/10, and I hope to see more quality cinema like The Sense of an Ending in the future.

We all reminisce. Older people have more to mull over than their younger counterparts, but we all do it. To what extent are our memories accurate representations of what actually happened? And how do the things that we forget, choose to leave out or just misremember affect how we view our past – and our present? These are the kind of questions the British drama "The Sense of Ending" (PG-13, 1:48) so eloquently and engagingly poses. Based on the 2011 novel of the same name by famed British author Julian Barnes (who won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for the book), this film has the potential to entertain all Movie Fans – and give them plenty to think about, regardless where they are in their lives, but those contemplations will vary depending on the stage of life they occupy at the moment.

Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent) is a disagreeable, semi-retired 70-something curmudgeon living in London. He used to make his living as a doctor, but now he owns a small vintage camera shop. Tony is long divorced from Margaret Webster (Harriet Walker), but they remain quite friendly, mutually supporting their pregnant single daughter, Susie (Michelle Dockery from TV's "Downton Abbey"), and sometimes meeting to discuss their lives over a spot of tea. Obviously comfortable (if not entirely happy) living out the narrative of his life (as he sees it), Tony is about to be shaken out of his complacency.

Dr. Webster receives a letter informing him that he has been bequeathed an old diary by the recently departed mother of his college girlfriend. Questions abound. Tony wants to know whose diary it is. When he tells his ex-wife about the letter, she's curious why the mother of a long-lost love would be leaving him anything in her will. As Tony struggles with the family's lawyer to get his hands on the diary (or at least get some answers), he begins telling Margaret stories from a past that he has never before shared. She gets frustrated when she senses that he isn't telling her the whole story, while the audience is left to wonder what he's leaving out, why he's leaving things out and if he even realizes he's doing it.

Tony's story slowly unfolds (and is later revisited and built upon) in flashbacks throughout the movie. As a young man, Tony (played during his school days and college years by Billy Howle) begins dating the young, fetching and quirky Veronica Ford (Freya Mavor). As they figure out how they really feel about each other and where their relationship is going, Tony spends a weekend at her family's country cottage, where Tony hits it off with Veronica's mother, Sarah (Emily Mortimer). Eventually (not a spoiler – it's in the theatrical trailer), young Tony's best friend, the very intelligent but very maudlin Adrian Finn (Joe Alwyn) emerges as a rival for Veronica's affections. As a mystery unravels both in old Tony's rearview mirror and in his present, he finds old Veronica (Charlotte Rampling) and demands answers.

"The Sense of an Ending" is a relatable, entertaining and thought-provoking character-driven drama. This impressive collection of English thespians all give heart-felt and layered performances, while Nick Payne's script and Ritesh Batra's direction sensitively and insightfully develop the story, but still leave room for individual interpretations. How a person sees this film will have as much to do with his or her age, perceptions and individual experiences as the story itself. And when all is said and done, the film's ending still leaves room for discussion among Movie Fans. Rather than a clearly defined ending, we get… the sense of an ending. Or is it a beginning? It's for each of you to decide for yourselves. Getting there does require you to go along for the ride on a slow-moving cinematic train, but it's well worth the journey – especially since you may be surprised where you end up. "A-"

You must be divorced, older than 60 to understand this movie... I liked, it was emotional in it's way, refection the past , the history.... like they sad, not really the truth...

What a waste of a great cast. This characters are all rather unpleasant. The story is drawn out and a bit dull. The focal point of the plot is pointless and overall the film is cold and distant.

The movie, adapted from a slim novel by Julian Barnes, is a tale of memory, guilt and regret. At the centre of the story is Tom, a divorced man in his late 60s, who leads a life of oppressive sameness. He receives a letter from a solicitor and Tom's routine is interrupted.

From flashbacks to the 1960s, we learn he was involved with a lass called Veronica and met Adrian, a charismatic student. A thoughtless act leads to, or may not have led to, tragedy.

How much of Tom's history (shown in the flashbacks) is true and how much is a distortion of his memory, is open to question.

Meanwhile, Tom's life in the present continues. His daughter is close to giving birth which means regular meetings with his former wife. This gives Tom an opportunity to discuss the past. By staying alert and listening in to the conversations closely and watching the flashbacks carefully, clues emerge for us to discern the truth.

Six fellow film fans and I saw the movie together and met for lunch afterwards. Our interpretations differed. An indication that we'd seen an exceptional film.

There were things we agreed on: the ensemble cast was outstanding; the editing was first-rate; the music unobtrusive; and the director's touch admirable.

Various actions of the major characters and possible actions not actually shown on screen were raised and analysed with the results agreed to by some, rejected by others.

It's not a film for everyone … but for those who enjoy a movie where clues are given but interpretations are left to the viewer, this one's for you.

It's a movie that stays with you for days.

Before I begin, as with most adaptations I have not read the source material, although I've heard Barnes' novel is tantalisingly thought-provoking. It's also not often that I watch a British indie drama, just because there aren't many being produced. Therefore I'm hoping me watching this will garner some much needed support for our own small budgeted productions. A retired man, Tony, receives a letter entitling him to a diary left for him in a will. The news sends him through a questionably nostalgic journey of his school life and past mistakes, embellishing in the revelation that he has lost precious time. Time. A measurement that never alters, depleting and replenishing life as it continues on without blinking. We all have one life, and it's up to us how we choose to spend each sacred minute. What this film eloquently explores is the act of forgiveness, realising how past mistakes can haunt us from time to time. The narrative is played out as if it were a teen love story, but is shrouded in class and elegance. This could've been a geriatric romance, but the meaningful and enigmatic themes throughout elevates this drama substantially. Broadbent proves he can still lead an entire film with a solid performance. The supporting cast was good as well, although Rampling needed far more screen time given her astronomical talent. It's unfortunate that I felt this film was rather confused. It couldn't determine if it was a mature love story or a contemporary thematic drama, and the problem was the two didn't blend. I was more enthralled by Broadbent's narration and the present story as opposed to the flashback romance which felt slightly generic. The pacing was inconsistent, particularly the second act which ultimately comes to a standstill. I also felt there was a cold barrier around each character, especially Tony, to which I just couldn't connect. It's a well intentioned drama that does convey important themes, but a clinical affair that was missing some much needed warmth.

The best I can say about this film is it seemed real and the emotions were well portrayed. Jim Broadbent is a great actor and he was the film. There were no light moments in the film at all. Not one. Therefore it made me feel heavy and flat and I did not particularly enjoy it. It was watchable but not entertaining in the true sense of the word. Really a film I sat through to simply see how it ended. Waiting for the DVD to come out is a better option rather than seeing it at the cinema. This is one of those films that probably should have gone straight to DVD. Disappointing considering the great actors in it.

Based on the Booker Prize-winning novella by Julian Barnes (which I have read), inevitably this film adaptation is different from the original work. The structure of the book was a section of the (unreliable) narrator's time at school and university followed by the present day coming to terms with revelations of that earlier period. The film is set in the present with lots of flash-backs to the past and that works well.

More questionably, the movie version of "The Sense Of An Ending" has a different ending which is not that of the author Julian Barnes or even that of the scriptwriter, the playwright Nick Payne, but essentially that of the director, Indian film-maker Ritesh Batra (who made the delightful work "The Lunchbox"). The film offers us a conclusion which is more definitive and more upbeat that the novel but that is perhaps the nature of this different medium.

"The Sense Of An Ending" is slow and serious but not all films can be "Fast And Furious". The pacing allows the viewer to admire the wonderful acting, primarily from Jim Broadbent as the narrator, retired and divorced Tony Webster, but also from some fine actresses, notably Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter and Emily Mortimer, plus some new young actors.

Like the source novel, this film is a challenging and moving examination of the malleability of memory. As Tony puts it: 'How often do we tell our own life story? How often do we adjust, embellish, make sly cuts?' How often indeed ...

Told via twin timelines in the life of "Tony Webster"; this is quite a gentle introspective on the way we live our lives and of the relatively significant impact of some equally insignificant decisions we make as we go along. Billy Howle is the younger version who has a fling with "Veronica'. Fast forward forty-odd years and we find Jim Broadbent in the role - the owner of a small camera shop - who is left a diary in the will of the girl's mother. The ensuing story unravels what happened to their relationship back then, and we see something of how it may develop in the present (with Charlotte Rampling); and of how "Tony" has evolved via his failed marriage to Dame Harriet Walter and his relationship with his expectant daughter Michelle Dockery. There are a few good scenes with Matthew Goode as the teacher and Joe Alwyn also stands out as 'Adrian Finn". The adaptation of Julian Barnes' novel is, however, a wee bit stodgy - and the film relies very heavily on the charisma of Rampling, Broadbent and a good effort from Howle to make much impact. It is intelligently done, but told from a very one-sided perspective.

Not sure what to say. Feels like an epic TV movie. The past meet the present and the old guy becomes sensible.

There is a fine line between enigmatic and tedious and this film is right on the line. Stunning cast but too much swapping between the present and the past, too many white, middle class, unpleasant characters. The 'change' in the main character felt tacked on and implausible. Why were the lesbians a joke? Is this the new way to deal with lesbians on film, to include them but make them a bit of a joke? I disliked the feeling that young Veronica was 'cold' because she did not put out. If I was meant to be struggling as I left the cinema and indeed for much of the night then the film succeeds but I did not like it.

I read book and after finishing it i watched movie immediately. Id say acting is on high level from all the actors/actresses. But movie itself missing sparkle and its rather dry and predictable.

On the other hand book gave me chills and goosebumps. Every single page is full of astonishing observations of ones life. That what is missing in the movie. All the emotions are on its place but i couldnt see depth in it.

Solid 7 point though.

All claps and awes to Mr. Julian Barnes one of the living legends.

The English film The Sense of an Ending (2017) was directed by Ritesh Batra. This excellent movie has an all-star cast. Jim Broadbent portrays Tony Webster, a divorced man who is technically retired, but who runs a camera repair shop that specializes in Leica cameras. Dame Harriet Walter plays Margaret Webster, his divorced wife. They have a grown daughter Susie (Michelle Dockery) who is a pregnant, partner-less lesbian. Charlotte Rampling plays Veronica Ford. She holds a secret that is the key to a critical moment in Tony's life that took place 50 years earlier.

Jim Broadbent is one of the greatest actors of the late 20th and early 21st Century. I've seen him in many films, and he always inhabits his role as if he were, indeed, that person. Dame Margaret Webster is a fine actor, and has appeared in dozens of movies and made-for-TV specials. However, I think the only time I've seen her on screen was as the vile Fanny Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995). She does a highly professional job as a embittered woman, whose life is absorbed by her business interests.

Michelle Dockery looks as if she just changed costumes and walked into this movie from Downton Abbey. She is always angry and depressed. For the record, her part is small and non-central in this film. I think she wants to broaden her range, but that didn't happen here. Could she ever star in a comedy?

Charlotte Rampling was one of the most beautiful women in movies. At age 70, she still is one of the most beautiful women in movies. She is not only beautiful, but she is a consummate actor who is made for this role.

This film is complicated. About 75% of it takes place in present time, and about 20% takes place in flashback. (The other 5% are dream and imaginary scenes, when the present enters into the past.) You'll have to pay close attention or you'll miss the point. In fact, during the middle of the film, I missed the point. However, towards the end, it all came together and made sense.

(Incidentally, there's a tedious sequence in the beginning, when Tony gets a certified letter, and he almost opens it, then he sort of opens it, then he opens it and doesn't read it, and finally, finally reads it. The letters starts off the entire plot, so he needs to read it, and we need to know what it says. That's the only weak part of the movie.)

We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. Even though it's meant to be seen on the large screen, it will work well on the small screen. This movie has a ridiculously low IMDb rating of 6.5. It's much better than that. This is one of those ratings that you have to ignore. Don't miss this movie just because it's rated so low.

P.S. Relevant to The Sense of an Ending: The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it." From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Summary (no spoilers)

This movie is about a man who gets haunted by his past and is presented with a legacy which makes him rethink his whole current situation in life.

My Review (no spoilers)

The plot of this movie was above average with a slow start and a good ending. But a bit confusing it could have been explained in a much easier way. The genres suggest that this movie was a drama and mystery there was nothing much mystery about this movie but a good drama with a really good message shown to the viewers. What I learned from watching this movie was that even when you're really angry think before you react because the consequences can be unchangeable and really painful to us. The acting shown in this movie was really good by each of them.

YES I would recommend people to watch this movie.

My Rating 7/10

Something rare in British cinema these days; a highly intelligent, highly literate film based on a highly intelligent and literate book by Julian Barnes, (it won the Man Booker Prize). It's one of those films in which people think everything out before acting on their feelings, sometimes shelving their feelings altogether in favour of a purely intellectual approach. It's mostly told in flashbacks by Jim Broadbent's cynical old curmudgeon to his ex-wife Harriet Walter as he recounts the events of his past and his relationships with a potentially unstable girl, her family and his best friend.

Dramatically not a great deal happens and yet, as they say, all human life is here but it is so well written, acted and directed you cling to every word and it's a real pleasure to hear such good dialogue delivered as beautifully as it is here. Broadbent hasn't been this good in years and Walters is wonderful as his ex-wife while Charlotte Rampling, in what is really just a cameo, is her usual outstanding self as the older version of Broadbent's first love. The younger players are also very fine; Billy Howle as the young Broadbent, Joe Alwyn as the friend, Downton's Michelle Dockery as a heavily pregnant daughter. It's also very touching and very funny; something of a real treat in fact.

I like movies that amble along but are either headed for a deeper examination of life or an interesting view of it. This movie does neither. When the "there" is revealed I was left with only mild arousal. But then this is a British movie and they tend to make more out of less. Focusing on Broadbent's character leaves the viewer with a smaller, narrower vision of history, and perhaps that was the point. We humans hate to find out that our footprint is smaller than we hoped. I would have preferred the story the girlfriend, the best friend, and the mother would have revealed.