"A Movie Script Ending" was written by frontman Ben Gibbard shortly after he moved to Seattle from the band's hometown of Bellingham, Washington.

The song also refers to The Beaver Inn with the line: "We peered through the windows, new bottoms on barstools but the people remain the same, with prices inflating."

"A Movie Script Ending" was the band's second music video; it was preceded by an obscure home-made clip for "I Was A Kaleidoscope".

[11] Pitchfork Media writer Joe Tangari considered it a logical extension of their previous work, complimenting its "spacious drumming, intertwining guitar arpeggios and Gibbard's impassioned tenor.

"[12] Stereogum columnist Chris DeVille wrote that "Rarely have Death Cab been more potent than on 'A Movie Script Ending'.