The End of the Tour

The final five days of David Foster Wallace's 1996 book tour for his epic 1,079-page novel Infinite Jest are documented by ambitious Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky in his 2010 book Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself. Adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Donald Margulies, this tenuous yet intense relationship/character study, deftly directed by James Ponsoldt, features an understated, nuanced performance by Jason Segel as Wallace, with Jesse Eisenberg playing sleazy, sycophantic Lipsky. The pair talk about a variety of subjects, the most interesting of which is how the normally reclusive Wallace is adjusting to sudden fame and celebrity. Lipsky journeys to wintry Bloomington, IN, to meet Wallace in his ranch-style home, after which they go to a bookstore and do a Minneapolis-based publicity jaunt (with Joan Cusack playing their no-nonsense driver). During a casual interlude with Julie (Mamie Gummer) and Betsy (Mickey Sumner)—the latter, Wallace's former girlfriend—Wallace observes Lipsky flirting with Betsy, and is quite offended. Ironically, the interview was never published, the two men never met again, and Lipsky's audio tapes were stashed away until after Wallace committed suicide in 2008 at age 46. A compassionate, conversational film about a tragic literary genius, this is recommended. (S. Granger)