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Purchaser of this Product | Eastern PA | 10/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie soars with its examination of relationships, family, and enduring friendships. Colin Farrell portrays his character with an honesty and depth that many other actors couldn't carry. Sissy Spacek - wow, great role, great job. What was ultimately uplifting about this movie to me was that at the end it rose above the gay cliches and examined the beautiful, deep relationship between Jonathan and Bobby, without focusing on the sexual aspects. This really isn't a 'gay' movie, its a movie that has a gay angle. While the movie may not be upbeat, I believe most viewers will leave the theater feeling uplifted. Do yourself a favor, catch this one."

"What a big, loud, noisy world we live in"

M. J Leonard | Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Michael Cunningham's book, At Home at the End of the World, is a wonderful book that weaves together themes of sexual fluidity, love, and the fact that "a home" can be wherever you want it to be. This film version has dispensed with much of the interior monologue of the novel, concentrating instead on the chronology of events. While not packing the ferocious emotional punch of the last Cunningham adaptation, The Hours, A Home at the End of the World is still an honest and sincere account of a three-way friendship that survives life's trials. Although some critics are saying, that this is a hack, slash and burn job on the novel, I actually thought the movie was a swiftly paced, lovely, and quite poignant ninety minute journey.

The story moves from the suburbs of Cleveland in 1967 and the childhood experiences of Bobby (Colin Farrell), and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) to New York in the 1980's where they both end up living with Clare (Robin Wright Penn). Bobby, at 7 sees his adored older brother walk into a glass door and die and then, soon after, tragically loses his mother. Jonathan is an outsider in high school until Bobby befriends him, gives him pot for the first time and shares a shy sexual experience with him. Then when Bobby's father dies, he is welcomed into Jonathan's family by Jonathon's mother, Alice (Sissy Spacek). Jonathan is clearly gay from an early age, and moves to New York. Bobby eventually follows, joining a household that also includes Clare. Claire is older, experiments with bizarre hair-coloring strategies, stitches hats for a living, pines for a child, and generally embraces the avant-garde. When Bobby and Clare start having an affair, Jonathon becomes jealous, feels like a "third wheel," and ultimately deserts them. But friendship and love prevail and they eventually manage to settle their differences and become a family again.

The film, while dispensing with much of the rich psychological detail of the book, still manages to focus on Bobby and Jonathan's teenage infatuation, Jonathan's adoration and resentment of Clare, Clare and Bobby's fumbling attempt at a real relationship, and most forcefully, Alice's observations of the people she loves and her own stagnant life. As the years pass, the characters weave in and out of each other's lives, while always remaining true to each other.

All the actors bring strength and resilience to their respective roles, Dallas Roberts is particularly strong as Jonathon, and he really nails the character's emotional search for love in New York. The lovely Robin Wright Penn is also good as Clare, and she plays the kooky, free spirited straight girl to perfection. Although, at times, I felt she might have been a little too old for the part. Farrell, although duly charismatic, never really gets a handle on Bobby's character. In one particular scene when Clare tells both Bobby and Jonathon that she's pregnant, Farrell looks sort of embarrassed, and almost stumbles when attempting to portray emotion. But A Home at the End of the World is still an astute study on the fluidity of friendships and the making of unconventional households. The viewer may be expecting conflict, resolution, and disagreement, but what they will actually get is mostly "life," where people who love one another are muddling through, and simply searching for a "home." Mike Leonard August 04.



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