Criticism | How it ends: ‘Young Witches’ reboot pandemic drama star director

Watched movie during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

The calm of empty streets and brothels sets up a scenario similar to that of real life. Parked cars and dilapidated markets reveal the portrait of a similar photograph and – inevitably – takes us back to the most tense days of the coronavirus pandemic. But in the comedy-drama How it Ends, the ending takes on a different bittersweet flavor, in which the sweetness of new beginnings, forgiveness and forgiveness outweigh the weight of the end of the world. Here, a meteor may even be on the verge of decimating planet Earth, but the last moments don’t have to be bitter.

Zoe Lister-Jones, writer, screenwriter and producer of the Young Witches reboot, migrates to a completely opposite side of this genre in this new drama, which explores the physical reality of a pandemic, to bring a charming and inspiring story about the acceptance, recognition and even emotional responsibility. Appropriating the delicate context of the world, she and her husband, Daryl Wein, take on the direction and script of How it Ends with firm impetus and good humor. Taking advantage of the unique opportunity offered by the present moment to occupy the empty streets of Los Angeles, they operate with little cinema equipment, but have many incredible experiences up their sleeve.

Presenting a pre-apocalyptic production, the duo make How it Ends an inspiring and comedic letter on the importance of forgiveness. Through the premise of the imminent end of the world, the film stars Liza (Lister-Jones), a woman who embarks on a journey of regret through the streets of Los Angeles on the last day of planet Earth, in order to redeem herself with the people of his past. And as the protagonist confronts her mistakes and those of others from a much more liberating perspective, the more she will also be forced to deal with self-mockery and all the reasons that led her to an epiphany of self-harm and self-harm. social isolation.

Inviting audiences to move beyond the socio-emotional effects that a global catastrophe is capable of bringing to the depths of each of us, the dramatic comedy actually makes us reflect on how we cope with our own. lives and how we deal with trauma and trauma. the consequences of each of our relationships, whether family, professional or loving. Motivating audiences with lightness, humor, but also with a heightened dose of drama, How it Ends sits between optimism and fear of uncertainty, being a symbolic and emotional reflection of the era of the pandemic – but transcendent the zeitgeist for his message which in fact is very timeless and always welcome.

Simple in its technical execution, but with powerful and essential arguments, the production is based on its dialogues and the reflections that Liza has with her younger, more innocent version. Fun but also profound, the film has its strong points at the climax, which makes a showdown on the weight of the lack of self-love and how it directly affects our perception of everything and everyone. A relationship-drama comedy, the film is packed with cameos from Hollywood stars like Olivia Wilde and Helen Hunt. Soothing How It Ends invites us to see our younger version again, so that we can perhaps learn to live in peace with the wounds we hold to cultivate, even after so many years.

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