Less authentic is the arrival of Jewel, the sly and vivacious hitchhiker who trips up Sean and Frank’s romantic feelings for her. At first glance, Jewel is a road trip contrivance, but a pleasant performance from Sarah Bolger makes the character worthwhile and renders a later twist even more shocking. In a memorable scene, Bolger’s character sings a rendition of the Irish folk song “Dirty Old Town,” and she hypnotizes the entire room with her elegant voice and presence.
Even as the film dabbles in slapstick, yielding a police chase and an unthinkable betrayal, Lerman and Hawkes’ emotionally-layered performances help keep the drama somewhat grounded. They portray the father-son duo with much-needed nuance; Frank and Sean both suffer from curbed annoyances and stifled anger, but they don’t verbally harp on about it. By the time Frank discloses to Sean that he did go back to face their mutually-repressed monster, it felt sincere.
“They portray the father-son duo with much-needed nuance…”
As Frank and Sean venture the agrestic Irish terrain, they find themselves warming up to each other, or more aware of what the other one has gone through. Along the rough father-son trek, Karl Oskarsson’s splendid cinematography captures the Irish fields and landscapes with gentle-moving long shots. End of Sentence is aesthetically pleasing, but the substance of Frank and Sean’s relationship is just as striking. Through prudence and discernment, Michael Armbruster’s script never misprizes Frank and Sean’s distress, or prioritize one over the other. Instead, the intelligent screenplay acknowledges how the same beast ignited Frank and Sean’s trauma. But the movie is also keenly aware that there’s more behind the curtain that has yet to be uncloaked and dealt with.
As Frank and Sean’s relationship strengthens, there’s still a lot of words and feelings that go unsaid. Those expecting a heavily dramatic conclusion will be unsatisfied, as any feud cannot be fully resolved by a road trip (contrary to what road trip films have you believe), and past trauma cannot be exhumed and then immediately expunged. But Adalsteins leaves viewers on a hopeful note, as a gorgeous wide shot of Frank and Sean sitting side-by-side near a glistening lake leaves the characters and viewers on a liberated note.
Elfar Adalsteins’s End of Sentence is an earnest father-son drama that doesn’t totally succumb to the familiar road trip trappings. Though it may seem trite on the surface level, the heart of the film beats true. And a road trip, once again, drives the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation home.
"…an earnest father-son drama that doesn't totally succumb to the familiar road trip trappings."
