n 1996, Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) spent five days interviewing acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, Infinite Jest.
As the days go on, a tenuous-yet-intense relationship seems to develop between journalist and subject. The two men bob and weave around each other, sharing laughs and also possibly revealing hidden frailties – but it's never clear how truthful they are being with each other. Ironically, the interview was never published, and five days of audio tapes were packed away in Lipsky's closet. The two men never met again.
THE END OF THE TOUR is based on Lipsky's critically acclaimed memoir about this unforgettable encounter, Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace, which was written following Wallace's 2008 suicide.
Both Segel and Eisenberg reveal great depths of emotion in their performances and the film is directed with humor and tenderness by Sundance vet James Ponsoldt from Pulitzer-Prize winner Donald Margulies' insightful and heartbreaking screenplay.