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- When And Where To Watch 'The End We Start From'?
- Is There a Trailer For 'The End We Start From'?
- What Is 'The End We Start From About'?
- Who Is In The Cast Of 'The End We Start From'?
- Who Is Making 'The End We Start From'?
End-of-the-world movies have been a staple of cinema for more than a hundred years of its history, but as we traverse through our uncertain times, where the apocalypse seems more like a story ripped from the pages of the daily newspaper than a novel concept in a work of science fiction, we are also witnessing the next evolution in the genre of apocalyptic films. The most popular apocalypse media today, from the HBO hit series The Last of Us to Adam McKay's satirical Don't Look Up, feel tangible, like an extension of our reality rather than full-blown fantasy. In The End We Start From, the apocalypse isn't just about the spectacle, but the real-world threat of survival in the face of a climate calamity.
Based on the 2017 British dystopian novella by author Megan Hunter, The End We Start From is a small but promising addition to the subgenre of disaster survival movies, capturing the plight of a mother trying to save her baby during an ecological crisis. The film boasts an impressive cast, with Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) leading along with big names like Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) and Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and had strong word of mouth coming out of TIFF. So if you are willing to take this trip to the end of the world, read our guide below to find out everything we know about The End We Start From so far.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on December 8, 2023.
The End We Start From
DramaThrillerA woman tries to find her way home with her newborn while an environmental crisis submerges London in floodwaters.
Release Date December 8, 2023 Director Mahalia Belo Cast Jodie Comer , Katherine Waterston , Benedict Cumberbatch , Mark Strong , Joel Fry , Gina McKee , Nina Sosanya Main Genre Drama Writers Alice Birch Distributor(s) Signature Entertainment , Republic PicturesWhen And Where To Watch 'The End We Start From'?
Paramount’s newly revived Republic Pictures released The End We Start From in select theatres in New York and Los Angeles on December 8, 2023, it will expand into more theaters across North America in January 2024. The film will receive a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2024.
The End We Start From had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, where it opened to positive reception from critics, with gushing reactions to Jodie Comer's portrayal. You can read Collider's review of the film right here.
The film is eventually expected to wind up at Paramount+, where you can catch it at no extra cost.
Is There a Trailer For 'The End We Start From'?
The first teaser for The End We Start From was released on September 9, ahead of the film's world premiere at TIFF. The teaser opens with a lighthearted moment shared between the mother character played by Jodie Comer and her baby, as she plays 'peekaboo' with her. It is followed by a few glimpses from the character's life, as we see her with her partner, played by Joel Fry (Cruella), and the beautiful and expansive cinematography in the film that captures the UK's landscape and water bodies. But the sense of beauty and wonder is short-lived as the danger of the situation quickly becomes apparent. We see the flooding of London creating havoc, hordes of people clustering in turmoil, and amidst all of it, Jodie Comer trying to find solace in the submerged land for herself and her baby.
The full official trailer for The End We Start From was released on November 29, 2023.
What Is 'The End We Start From About'?
CloseThe End We Start From follows a new mother who is forced out of her home in London, due to a cataclysmic flood that threatens to sink the entire city and looks to find shelter at her parent's house in the English countryside, along with her partner and infant, who grows up in this chaotic world. Megan Hunter's novel, which the movie is based on, has been described as a prophetic vision of a dystopian future that manages to find hope in the face of apocalypse. The film tackles the same themes and lets us spend time with these real but unnamed characters, as they navigate the tumultuous world around them.
The official synopsis for the film from Republic Pictures reads:
When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos. As a woman (Jodie Comer) and her newborn try and find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus in this intimate and poetic portrayal of family survival.
The film's director Mahalia Belo stopped by Collider's TIFF media studio to discuss the film, and here's what she had to say about its themes:
"There's this idea of tomorrow, about bringing people into the world and what you want from the world, but there's also the shifts that happen when you become a new parent, that you yourself change. You are there for someone else, fathers and mothers, and you have to shift yourself to meet that and you see the world in a whole new way. So I felt like the parallels between parenthood and a world changing around you and having to kind of really navigate that was so kind of compelling."
Who Is In The Cast Of 'The End We Start From'?
Jodie Comer headlines the cast of The End We Start From and shines in every frame. The emerging English actress of films such as Free Guy and The Last Duel, carries the film on her capable shoulders and has garnered universal acclaim for her committed and transformative performance, including the director, who calls her a gift to work with. But the Killing Eve star isn't alone as she is joined by an equally impressive cast of delightful supporting players. Joel Fry from Cruella and Our Flag Means Death plays Jodie Comer's partner in the film, a man desperately trying to do good in a cruel unnerving world. Mark Strong, Nina Sosanya (Love, Actually), Gina McKee (Notting Hill), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and Benedict Cumberbatch, all make brief appearances in small but memorable parts.
Who Is Making 'The End We Start From'?
Mahalia Belo, who has previously directed the BBC miniseries Requiem and The Long Song, makes her feature debut with The End We Start From. The screenplay of the film has been adapted from Megan Hunter's novel by acclaimed British screenwriter and playwright Alice Birch, most well known for writing and serving as the showrunner on the popular romantic dramas based on Sally Rooney's books - Normal People and Conversation With Friends.
Benedict Cumberbatch serves as an executive producer on the film with his production company SunnyMarch, along with Jodie Comer, Mark Strong, Sébastien Raybaud, Fanny Soulier, Pieter Engels, Kate Maxwell, Fani Ntavelou Baum, Dave Caplan, Jason Cloth, Eva Yates, and Claudia Yusef. The film is produced by Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland, Liza Marshall, Amy Jackson, and Sophie Hunter.
Principal photography took place in London and the British countryside in September 2022, with Normal People and Conversation With Friends cinematographer Suzie Lavelle serving as the director of photography.
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