“End Game” Nominated for an Academy Award

Last May, SevenPonds reviewed the stunning documentary “End Game.” Brought to us by Oscar-winning director Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, it was the second documentary from the video streaming service Netflix to tackle the subject of death and dying in as many years. Like its predecessor, “Extremis,” featuring Dr. Jessica Zitter, it is a heartrending film that tells the deeply personal stories of ordinary people who are grappling with the inevitability of death.

When “Extremis” and then “End Game” were released, both were met with critical acclaim. “Extremis” was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the 89th Academy Awards. (It lost out to another Netflix offering, “The White Helmets.”) And now, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated “End Game” for an Oscar in the same category. The film will compete against four other contenders at the 91st Academy Awards this Sunday, February 24, 2019.

The odds of “End Game” actually winning the Oscar are, according to most who write about these things, pretty small. Like “Extremis,” it is up against some very strong contenders, including the oddsmakers’ current favorite, “Black Sheep.” But the fact that either, no less both of these films were recognized by the Academy is nonetheless an encouraging statement about how far our society has come in our willingness to think about, talk about, and confront the truth about death.

A scene from “End Game”
Credit: decider.com

Both “Extremis” and “End Game” are difficult films to watch. Seeing other people’s pain and knowing that it’s real is hard. Americans love romanticized death. (Think “Terms of Endearment” or “Sweet November.”) And we revel in violent death, as long as it’s sufficiently sanitized. But we tend to shy away from the real thing because it reminds us of what we fear more than anything else—our own death or the death of someone we love.

Hollywood is all about the myth of eternal youth. It’s about Botox and fillers and facelifts and plastic surgery and Jane Fonda looking 40 on her 80th birthday. Its influence has helped to perpetuate our cultural avoidance of aging and the elderly and our deeply entrenched fear of even speaking about the subject of death. And so it is enormously refreshing to see its most prestigious organization embrace films that take an unflinching look at this universal experience in such a real and compassionate way.

I’m rooting for the underdog and hoping that “End Game” walks away with an Oscar Sunday night.