The End We Start From

by Mike McGranaghan

Few films capture the feeling of desperation as palpably as The End We Start From. This isn’t a movie you just watch, it’s one you feel in your bones. To hear the plot described would make it sound like a disaster film. In a sense, it is. There are, however, no shots of destruction or mass casualties. Horrors taking place are merely alluded to. The focus is instead on a few people trying to stay alive amid those horrors. In taking a micro approach, director Mahalia Belo is able to tell a story that gets under your skin.

London is largely underwater, thanks to a series of devastating storms. A young unnamed couple (Jodie Comer and Joel Fry) flee the city, taking up residence in the country with his parents. Staying there eventually becomes untenable. They make the trek to a shelter, but it only has room for children and one parent. The man insists his wife take the baby and go. She becomes friends with another new mom (Katherine Waterston). Events occur that I won’t reveal, except to say the woman must travel further, putting her increasingly far away from the husband whose fate is unknown to her.

The End We Start From paints big ideas with just a few small brush strokes. Individual scenes are short. Buried within them are lines of carefully crafted dialogue and nuances in the performances that convey oceans of meaning. The film forces you to vicariously accompany the protagonist on her ordeal. You put yourself in the woman’s place as she faces familial separation, disruption of daily life, isolation, being stuck in uncomfortable situations with strangers, and so on. Belo, working from Alice Birch’s screenplay, builds nervous tension by suggesting how difficult carrying on would be if environmental catastrophe struck.

The main theme, however, is what it means to bring a child into a world that is increasingly troubled. The woman goes to great lengths to protect her baby from the chaos and mayhem occurring around them. Needing to care for him is what keeps her hanging on when giving up would be the easier option. During a scene about an hour into the story, she does something we don’t expect, and it illustrates the frantic desire to prevent harm from coming to the child. She’s changed by external forces, yet intent on shielding her son from them.

Jodie Comer, who was so great in The Last Duel, is extraordinary in the lead role. Even with relatively minimal dialogue, she brings out the combination of terror and determination that pushes her character forward. It’s a performance full of emotion. Waterston delivers first-rate supporting work, as does Benedict Cumberbatch in a small, heartbreaking role as a tortured man the mothers run into.

The gripping human drama in The End We Start From is consistently absorbing. It has no need for the endless barrage of special effects that movies about disasters often rely on. The plot thrills with insights into the measures parents will take to ensure their children’s safety. Any parent watching the film will identify with the character’s drive – and probably thank God they’re not in her shoes.

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