Realistic, heart-wrenching and powerful.  A look at what fame is, and what it means, as seen through the eyes of two highly dysfunctional individuals trying their best to deal with the world.  Doesn’t matter if you’ve read the book; if you’re interested in digging into what makes people tick, see this film.  Grade: A

The book Infinite Jest may be over a thousand pages and absolutely intimidating for the casual reader, but The End of the Tour is the kind of movie anyone can relate to.  Everyone has, at some point, felt that sting of not truly fitting in, of trying to figure out how to live this life.  David Foster Wallace’s uncertainty, mistrust and reclusive behavior may not be what everyone experiences, but Jason Segel breathes life into the character.  He doesn’t make Wallace a loveable teddy bear in the performance, but you can understand Wallace.  It’s uncomfortable to see and painful to watch sometimes, but you get it.  Same goes for Jesse Eisenberg’s Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky.  Lipsky has his own issues, and his own forces that drive him.  And the clash between Wallace’s understanding of fame — “David, this is not real” — and Lipsky’s not-so-secret lusting after it, makes Tour a fascinating watch.

Not to say that this film is for everyone.  It’s dialogue heavy and has an extremely sharp focus; secondary characters trot in and out of frame, and while their performances are equally good (especially Mamie Gummer as Wallace’s friend Julie, and Joan Cusack as chauffeur/Minneapolis tour guide Patty), nobody else is onscreen long enough to fully register.  So if you’re not down with a borderline Waiting for Godot/I’m Not Rappaport-esuqe plot, you may be bored to tears.

For those ready to dig in as deeply as the actors do?  You’ll be rewarded with an incredible look inside the creative process, and the minds that create/hope to create greatness.