The End of the Run (2024) Review

“The End of the Run” opens with its narrator (Sue Gerdes) breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the viewer, which is appropriate for a film marketed as a “morality play.” And, since the movie opens in this fashion, the viewer is not caught off-guard when the narrator appears periodically to serve as an omniscient voice to guide us along on this journey.

We then meet Angela (Jill Liberaski), who has disappeared for more than a decade and is looking to locate her former lover–a gangster named Billy. She must first check in with mobster, Jimmy (Steven Perry), and Aunt Rose (Karen Crew) to see if they can lead her to her lost love.

Angela finds her ex, Billy (Tony Gerdes), has left the mob to become a dinner theater performer. Ten years prior, the two had dated while both were married. Now, as they reconnect, they are trying to figure out what went wrong with the paths they have each chosen.

Over the course of the discussion, it is revealed that Billy fathered a child with Angela, and she’d now like him to be a part of his daughter’s life. However, as the story unfolds, there is a mystery to Angela and the tale takes an even more unexpected turn.

Our narrator appears again, explaining another ten years have now passed and we jump forward to that time in the future where Billy has a long-standing relationship with his and Angela’s daughter, Maureen (Luette Muir), who knows him as a close family friend.

The second half of the movie evolves into a tale of political intrigue that is surprisingly prophetic, mirroring contemporary American political events. This plot twist doesn’t change the tone of the movie but rather gives the characters room to grow and develop as they come to terms with decisions they have made and will be making.

Writer and director, Ray Crew, drew from personal experiences to create and develop this story, which had a two-decade evolution. “The End of the Run” feels like a play, because it was originally written and performed as a one act play, which had its own award-winning festival run.

The central character is Billy. He is a complicated person filled with flaws but a strong sense of right and wrong as his morality is put to the test. Billy must navigate the murky waters of family loyalties, good and evil, and doing what he knows is simply the right thing to do.

As a viewer and movie critic, the first 10 minutes of “The End of the Run” felt overwhelmingly independent and I didn’t know what to expect. The film has a small cast, minimal sets, and the production feels like a stage play rather than a feature film.

However, by the time the narrator makes her second appearance, the story and the character development overtake the budgetary limitations and allow for a compelling and charming tale–one that is incredibly enjoyable, without an outcome that is equally complete as it is rewarding.