FMP Research and Analysis; 'The End of The F****** World'

As I was in the process of filming, I was watching this series on Netflix that inspired me. It had very sad and moving shots throughout the episodes, which is the sort of emotion I wanted to convey in my own film.

Plot

'The End of The F****** World' is a Netflix series that premiered on Channel 4. Inspired by Charles Forsman's graphic novel it follows the story of 17 year old James and Alyssa. James believes he is a psychopath, but later comes to realise he has severe PTSD after he watched his mother kill herself by driving into a lake and drowning. From the beginning he tries to feel something as he is so numb so kills animals, and eventually plots to kill Alyssa, a human. However he cannot bring himself to do so. Alyssa is shown to be quite a confident, stubborn and sometimes a lewd young woman, who has a taste for adventure and is essentially bored of life. She proposes to run away to escape her troubled family life. James agrees as part of his plan to kill her. However they end up falling in love.

One of my favourite scenes of the series that inspired me for the film I made is the Season 1 finale, where James runs across the beach after being discovered by police for killing Clive Koch. The final moments of Season 1 saw James bleeding out while Alyssa screamed over his body. I think this scene is quite remarkable as it shows how much Alyssa really cares about James, although for so long she pretends not to care about him, and conceals her emotions with snide remarks. For this reason it is quite cathartic, and I want my film to have this sort of emotional significance for the viewer.

The scenes are from a series of flashbacks from when James runs along the beach in slow motion while trying to escape the police who were firing at him. It reflects on the memories of James and Alyssa and the time they spent together, and at the end you are left wondering whether James is alive or dead. This kind of moving display is one of the main things that inspired my film, especially the ending which was not very clear and rather deceptive, as James is still alive in season 2.

Works Cited Romero, Ariana. “This Is the One Big Similarity between “TEOTFW” & “13 Reasons Why.”” Www.refinery29.com, www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/01/187223/end-of-the-fucking-world-suicide-13-reasons-why. Accessed 30 May 2022. “The End of the F***Ing World Ending Scene (1x08) TEOTFW.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeAuGLeJoIM. Accessed 30 May 2022.