On the End

On the End (2025)

The Hamptons is not for everyone

Tom, a curmudgeonly Montauk mechanic, unexpectedly finds love online with Freckles, a spitfire outcast diabetic like himself. Their newfound happiness comes under threat when Tom’s lucrative beachfront property and repair shop becomes the target of an unscrupulous real estate agent, whose underhanded tactics emboldens the gentrified community to turn on this established resident lowering their property values. Based on true events, On The End features outstanding performances from Tim Blake Nelson and Mireille Enos as the inspiring working-class couple fighting against the power, greed, and corruption of a changing community, giving hope to take on and endure the fight when there’s everything to lose.

Date of release
2025-10-04
Runtime
1h 52m
Genres
Drama, Comedy, Romance
Director
Ari Selinger

Casting

Interesting facts

On the End is a 2025 American drama film written and directed by Ari Selinger in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Tim Blake Nelson, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Anna Chlumsky and Lois Smith. Based on true events that garnered national attention, the film tells the story of a Montauk mechanic and his girlfriend who fight against gentrification and real estate interests threatening their home and business. Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess serve as executive producers.

Production

Writer-director Ari Selinger first met mechanic Tom Ferreira and his girlfriend Freckles (Cathy Anne Tobin) in 2011 outside Ferreira's Montauk beachside shop while shooting his NYU thesis film. Ferreira's real-life story became the foundation for Selinger's debut feature. In a statement, Selinger explained, "Little did I know his life would become the blueprint for On the End, a real-life fable set in a hidden corner of the Hamptons.

The film is based on the true story of Thomas Ferreira, a Montauk mechanic whose family had lived on Navy Road since 1946. Ferreira operated an auto repair business from his home on Fort Pond Bay, which he moved to the property after his previous landlord, actor Ralph Macchio, raised the rent on his shop. For nearly a decade, Ferreira accumulated vehicles and auto parts in his yard, which neighbors claimed was a safety hazard.

In 2009, East Hampton Town officials hired a carting company and removed the contents of Ferreira's yard, including his tools and equipment, later billing him $20,000 for the removal. Ferreira filed a $55 million federal civil rights lawsuit, arguing that town officials had improperly employed emergency health and safety laws in a conspiracy to clean his yard and enhance neighboring property values.

Ferreira died in 2024, and his girlfriend Tobin died in 2017 from complications of Type 1 diabetes at age 47.

Production wrapped in Montauk, New York, with filming taking place on Navy Road, two doors down from Ferreira's actual property. The production used a town-owned house slated for demolition as the primary filming location. Ferreira, who was ill during production, watched the filming from his porch.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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