Sundance 2021 Review: How It Ends – “A well-crafted piece of art”

If you and everyone you know only had one day left on this earth, what would you do?

Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) just wants to eat until she vomits, get high, and die. The only problem is her metaphysical younger self (Cailee Spaeny) won’t let her. 

An Astroid is on its course to destroy the Earth at 2 A.M. Instead of everyone freaking out and wreaking havoc in the streets, California is quiet and empty. That morning Liza gets a string of video messages urging her to go to an “end of the world party.”

Liza has no plans to attend, but while seeking drugs, she runs into her ex. Young Liza makes her realize it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to make amends with people in her life and maybe get some things off her chest.

Deprived of a car, the two set out on foot to complete their mission. As the day passes, they run into a string of characters that fill this film with hilarious comedic cameos. Some of these include Colin Hanks, Whitney Cummings, Fred Armisen, and Pauly Shore.

Liza first confronts her father (Bradley Whitford) about his terrible parenting. Then she moves along to her estranged friend (Olivia Wilde). Who is doing exactly what I would do, eating a whole cake while downing a bottle of wine. She even gets the courage to talk to her mother (Helen Hunt) about being abandoned by her. 

Through many conversations, Liza concludes that she’s alone. No one seems to be by her side, especially as the world is about to end. But her younger self reminds her that she isn’t, that Young Liza is always right beside her.  

There are many impending apocalypse comedies: This is the End, World’s End, and Seeking a Friend For the End of the World, to name a few.

How It Ends is a genuinely funny take that also has a deeper meaning attached to it. What sets this doomsday film apart from the others is it’s shot during a worldwide pandemic. So it feels a bit more personal.

At its core, How It Ends is not a film about the world ending. It’s a film about being able to say, “I’m enough, and my life is good.” You may have lost a friend, and maybe you didn’t get your dream job: But at the end of the day, can you live with yourself? Would your younger self be proud of what you did accomplish? 

Despite this film being about impending doom, it’s filled with sunny skies and gorgeous California landscapes. The only semblance that something is headed their way is a slight streak in the sky on a few wide shots. Because the camera never dwelled on it, I often wondered if It was just a mark from a plane left in the sky or if it was added in for a visual effect. 

As I said, this film was shot during a major health crisis. It’s interesting how the filmmakers stuck to social distancing guidelines during filming. If this happened at any other time in history, it would feel a bit weird to have actors standing 6 feet apart, a daughter not hugging her mother or father, and a guy not going in for the kiss when the movie desperately called for it. But these are odd times, so it all felt appropriate. Unfortunately, the staging may not age well. But, it works for the time we are currently living in.

How It Ends is a well-crafted piece of art with an amazing soundtrack and a deeper meaning than what lies on the surface.