The End of The F***ing World – Film Review

‘The End of the F***ing World’ is a dark comedy-drama television series. The series is based on the comic series The End of the F***ing World by Charles S. Forsman. The eight-part series premiered on ‘Channel 4’ and ‘All 4’ in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2017. The series was made available by Netflixinternationally on January 5, 2018. "I feel, I dunno, I feel comfortable with him," is how 17-year-old Alyssa (Jessica Barden) describes her burgeoning relationship with James (Alex Lawther), another teenage misfit whom she met at school, in the first episode of The End of the F***ing World. "I feel sort of safe." Unbeknownst to Alyssa, while she’s pondering her feelings, James is ferociously sharpening a hunting knife with a gleam in his eye, plotting how to kill her.‘The End of the F***ing World‘ tells the story of two teenage social misfits named James and Alyssa who become bored of their boring miserable lives and decide f*** it and go on a journey but managing to find trouble. Both of them are weird kids and had a pretty messed-up childhood.

James believes himself to be a psychopath so, through his lens, the way he is and the things he does or doesn’t care about, make sense to him. James sort of made peace with that. Alyssa has some serious anger issues and she let herself experience her emotions but also can’t just be the normal kid people expect her to be.

Brooding teen James is looking for his next victim, a human, to kill as household pets just don’t cut it for him anymore. In walks Alyssa, a militant teen, who alienates herself from everybody with her cynical attitude towards life – the perfect victim for James’ plans. Together, they embark spree, motivated by circumstances, inexperience and desires they don’t quite understand. As for the cast, the performances are stunning. There was not a single weak link, though the highest praise must go to Jessica Barden and Alex Lawther for their flawless, perfectly balanced performances constantly moving between vulnerability and adult cynicism. Simply amazing!

The chemistry between the two protagonists James and Alyssa is fantastic as it has so much depth in the relationship with different emotions such as awkwardness, teenage anxiety, love and comedy.As someone in their late teens, it’s refreshing to see actors who actually look like "teens" playing teens unlike other pieces of media which show airbrushed adults in their mid-twenties as the "average teen". The supporting characters are also very well developed and you know who to like and who to dislike. There are things that British television just does better. Fantastic character development over a short span of episodes. This shows is a quick watch, the episodes fly by. The show perfectly balances the fast-paced and fun with the bleakness of the things it talks about.

The series is only 8 episodes long and each episode is 20 minutes long or shorter, giving it a quick and enjoyable binge. The show doesn’t waste time on anything. Within 2 or 3 episodes you can already understand so much about James and Alyssa, their insecurities and what they need from each other. So, the bottom line, should you watch ‘The End of the F***ing World‘? Definitely, it’s a lot of goodness in a very small package. It manages to tackle heavy stuff without really being heavy. Actors are fantastic, the story is simple and beautiful. This is definitely something refreshing, quick and beautiful to watch. The episodes flow so easily, it’s just a pure joy to watch.