Sundance Film Festival movie review: 'How It Ends'

(Image courtesy of Sundance Film Festival)

The relentlessly eccentric end-of-the-world dramedy 'How It Ends' (world premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival) explores a city where everyone is totes cool with the end of days.

In short: On the last day on Earth, Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) runs into an eclectic cast of characters on her journey through L.A. to make it to her last party before the world ends. Cailee Spaeny, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt and Lamorne Morris also star.

To get a sense of this movie's sensibilities: 'How It Ends' is rooted in an emotionally stunted, if charming, woman zig zagging her way across Los Angeles ... accompanied by her teenage self. Yes, this is a buddy movie wherein the protagonist walks and talks with an imaginary friend of sorts. And this imaginary friend chats with other random people - well, at least the ones who can see her. Some people can see her, others can't. Consistency isn't a priority for this script. And there's no real plot to speak of - the script follows Liza and her "Y.S." (younger self) as they momentarily bump into a cadre of urban oddballs.

'How It Ends' is eccentric down to its very bones. Liza and her Y.S. freely stroll desolate Los Angeles streets - because the film was shot in L.A. during the coronavirus pandemic. The sprawling city is eerily empty and still as Liza hoofs it across L.A. It's the ultimate low-tech accent that gives 'How It Ends' a truly apocalyptic and surreal feel.

The film has a decidedly off-kilter take on the end of the world, which itself isn't a problem - the fact that most of the oddball side characters all sound the same is a problem. There's a flatness to the overall film. Everyone seems very chill, despite the fact that any character can look up into the sky - even in broad daylight - and see the doomsday asteroid bearing down on them. Everyone is nonchalant ... and almost everyone has the same tenor of mellow without urgency. This becomes an issue for the handful of minutes 'How It Ends' earnestly attempts emotional drama ... but the film has not earned these heavier scenes. It's hard to take the few raw emotionally charged moments seriously when the other 90 percent of the film is just offbeat non-sequiturs.

Final verdict: 'How It Ends' is laid-back idiosyncratic to a fault, resulting in an film where everyone is facing their mortality, yet they all speak with virtually the same voice.

Score: 2.5/5

'How It Ends' screens at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This drama is not yet rated and has a running time of 82 minutes.

Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones & Daryl Wein / Screenplay by Zoe Lister-Jones & Daryl Wein / Cinematography by Daryl Wein / Film Editing by Daryl Wein & Libby Cuenin / Composer Ryan Miller / Starring Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt and Lamorne Morris.