Review: James Ponsoldt's Moving, Intimate And Winning 'The End Of The Tour' Starring Jesse Eisenberg And Jason Segel

Recreating a special moment in time can be difficult. Capturing what’s supposed to be a five-day conversation between two artists/writers secondhand (thirdhand, even) is even tougher. James Ponsoldt’s “The End Of The Tour” — a film about a Rolling Stone journalist shadowing author David Foster Wallace for a profile piece on the renowned writer — doesn’t look like much of a movie on paper. In fact, it feels like a play. At first, the picture doesn’t seem like it has enough compelling reasons to justify its existence. But as it begins to open up and build a head full of steam, “The End Of The Tour” becomes an incredibly winning and engaging portrait of friendship, lasting connection, and mutual understanding.

In what is easily a career-best performance, Jason Segel plays the conflicted, bandana-wearing genius Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg portrays David Lipsky, the Rolling Stone writer who pitched and championed a profile on Wallace when his novel “Infinite Jest” was beginning...