The Sense of an Ending

Director Ritesh Batra's film adaptation of Julian Barnes's 2011 novel offers a canny lead turn by Jim Broadbent as Tony Webster, a grumpy septuagenarian who is forced to learn some difficult life lessons when confronting his past. A fussy, punctilious man, Tony treats others with disdain, seeming ill-at-ease even with his pregnant daughter. His routine is upset when he inherits a diary written many years ago by his prep school friend Finn (Joe Alwyn), who committed suicide after taking up with Tony's girlfriend, Veronica (Freya Mavor). But the aged Veronica (Charlotte Rampling) refuses to hand over the diary, forcing Tony to reexamine the events of his youth and come to terms with the fact that he has been lying to himself about his role in the romantic triangle. By alternating scenes set in the present with extended flashbacks (in which Tony is played by Billy Howle), the film restates in cinematic terms the question Barnes posed in his book: how truthful is any person's reconstruction of his or her past? The Sense of an Ending makes the viewer work toward an understanding of Tony's rationalizations as it offers clues throughout the narrative. Some will find this frustrating, while others will appreciate a film that is both challenging and entertaining. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a “Power of Memory” making-of featurette (11 min.), and a “Doing Right by a Great Book” behind-the-scenes segment (7 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for this fine adaptation of Julian Barnes's excellent novel.] (F. Swietek)