The End: Release date, cast, plot, & Everything we know About Joshua Oppenheimer’s Post-Apocalyptic Musical

The highly anticipated musical film The End, directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, is creating quite the buzz at major film festivals, including Telluride and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). 

This unique post-apocalyptic musical, which could have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, promises to deliver a captivating blend of classic Broadway vibrancy and a dark, dystopian narrative.

Oppenheimer is making his narrative debut with this innovative project. The film explores a wealthy family hoarding fine art and luxury items in an underground bunker after a catastrophic event, raising questions about privilege and accountability. This unconventional approach to storytelling is a hallmark of Oppenheimer’s work, and the initial footage screened at TIFF has only heightened anticipation.

Prepare for an exciting journey into a world where musicals meet the bleakness of survival and guilt in the face of destruction. In this article, we’ll delve into the captivating plot, talented cast, and creative minds behind The End. 

Stay tuned for updates, as we’ll add more information as it becomes available—this is one cinematic experience you won’t want to miss!

Release date & Where to Watch

The End will be released in select theaters across the US on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. While a specific release date for the UK has not been announced, the film will be featured at the BFI London Film Festival. This follows its worldwide premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. 

Plot

The End, directed by Academy Award-nominated Joshua Oppenheimer, is a poignant musical that delves into the lives of a wealthy family two decades after a catastrophic apocalypse. Living in a salt mine transformed into an opulent bunker, the family includes a mother, father, and their 20-year-old son, who has never seen the outside world. Their only connection to the outside is through a maid, who forms an honest bond with the son, and they are assisted by a doctor and a butler.

As they navigate their sheltered existence, the family's survival is underpinned by deep-rooted tensions and guilt over loved ones left behind. The father's background as an oil magnate looms over them, complicating their emotional landscape as his actions contribute significantly to the environmental disaster that has left them in isolation.

The musical elements, reminiscent of Broadway’s Golden Age, provide a stark contrast to their bleak reality, symbolizing their desperate need to avoid confronting their guilt and the grim circumstances outside. With the unexpected arrival of a young girl at the bunker’s entrance, the family’s delicate balance is threatened, setting the stage for a dramatic exploration of survival, remorse, and human connection in a post-apocalyptic world.

The End intertwines comedy and drama as it portrays the absurdities and challenges faced by this family, raising questions about humanity's resilience in the face of overwhelming despair.

Cast

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• Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door)
• George MacKay (1917, Munich: The Edge of War)
• Moses Ingram (Lady in the Lake, Queen's Gambit)
• Michael Shannon (The Bikeriders, George & Tammy)
• Bronagh Gallagher (Belgravia)
• Tim McInnerny (One Day) 
• Lennie James (Fear the Walking Dead)
• Danielle Ryan as Mary
• Naomi O'Garro
• Ash Smith as Greta

Official Trailer

On Nov. 4, 2024, Neon released the official trailer for The End. The trailer features an intriguing mystery with a family living underneath an ice roof. It looks like their son has been told that there's nothing outside that place. However, he gets the courage to venture out when the arrival of a girl shatters everything he knows. Check out the trailer below:

Filming

Filming for the project commenced in October 2021, and scenes were shot in diverse locations in Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Behind the Scenes

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, best known for The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, The End features a screenplay by Oppenheimer and Rasmus Heisterberg. The film’s production is a collaboration between Final Cut for Real, Wild Atlantic Pictures, and The Match Factory. Aron Eli Coleite, who previously worked on Atlas and Hellbent, contributed to the script. At the same time, the score is composed by Joshua Schmidt and Marius de Vries, with music supervision by Fiora Cutler. Choreography is led by Sam Pinkleton and Ani Taj.