The End of the Tour stars Jason Segel (The Muppets) in a rare dramatic role as David Foster Wallace, the author of the modern classic Infinite Jest who committed suicide in 2008. The film, directed by James Ponsolt (The Spectacular Now), co-stars Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) as Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky, who interviewed Wallace over the course of five days in 1996, and turned their conversations into a book titled Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace in 2010.
The film is almost entirely conversational, since Lipsky is interviewing Wallace the whole time, but The End of the Tour is about more than just two guys talking. It’s an intimate and insightful drama about ambition, jealousy, and the nebulous nature of friendship. Is it possible for two people to truly connect when they both want something from each other? Is that not what every relationship boils down to, when you really think about it?
Related: Sundance Review: ‘The End of the Tour’ is One-On-One of a Kind
The End of the Tour co-stars Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Joan Cusack (In & Out), Mamie Gummer (Cake), Mickey Sumner (Frances Ha) and Ron Livingston (The Conjuring). Check out the trailer above, the first poster to the side, and find it in theaters on July 31, 2015.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
