i'm thinking of ending things, the new film from Charlie Kaufman, shouldn't be so unsettling. Its premise certainly isn't. Jake, played by Jesse Plemons, travels to the farmhouse where he grew up and introduces his new girlfriend to his parents. That's it. Jake's not even a particularly menacing character. He memorizes poetry. He loves musicals. He's awkward, but in a way that's kind of charming, not harmful.

And yet once Jake and his girlfriend reach the farm, things take a decidedly odd turn. Again, on the surface, everything is pretty normal. After a brief tour of the barn, Jake and his girlfriend sit in the living room, waiting for Jake's parents to come down from upstairs. Jake puts on some music and makes a fire. His girlfriend ponders various knickknacks scattered around the room. They make small talk. There's nothing inherently dangerous about it.

Not until Plemons works his magic, anyway. As more time passes, it's hard to shake the sense that something more sinister is going on. Despite the mundane setup, the tension in the room is almost tangible, and it's that way largely thanks to Plemons' inspired performance.

That shouldn't come as much of a shock. Over the past few years, the star has perfected this kind of role, and this one scene in i'm thinking of ending things is one of his best performances yet. Here's why.

While Jesse Plemons has a few larger-than-life blockbusters in his filmography, he's best known for playing ordinary people. On Friday Night Lights, Plemons wasn't the star quarterback - he was the quarterback's best friend. In season 2 of Fargo, he's a small-town butcher who wants nothing more than to buy the shop where he works. In Other People, he plays a man whose mother is dying of cancer. On-screen, Plemons effortlessly transforms into these everyday characters, which makes it very, very easy to sympathize with him.
That's true in i'm thinking of ending things, too, at least at first.
Jake's situation is all too relatable. Introducing a new partner to your family can be nerve-wracking, and many people have complicated relationships with their parents. Plemons plays on those anxieties, infusing the scene with a nervous energy that feels uncomfortably familiar. As a result, it's hard not to sympathize with him - we've all been there.

His innate relatability | 0:00
His perfectly calibrated awkwardness | 1:59
His sinister affability | 3:14
His underlying sadness | 4:55

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The Scene In i'm thinking of ending things That Makes Us Love Jesse Plemons Even More | Netflix
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Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.