A Home at the End of the World (2004)

My sons & I saw the very first 2:30PM show Friday the 23rd at the San Francisco Lumiere theater. WE LOVED IT!! All the reviews are fairly sound-- great awesome wonderful sweet emotional very very touching & full of longing & love. Colin as Bobby was spectacularly adorable. This role shows so well how versatile Colin is an an actor-- what a talented genius he is and what a fully emotional person he's capable of being.

All the actors did an incredible job-- but in particular I was really impressed with the teens that played the young Bobby & Jonathan-- they were absolutely genuine in what these really complicated, mature roles.

Regardless of the necessary changes made from the book-- I was amazed at how so many moments were exactly as I'd pictured them when I read it.

Even though there's been a ton of reviews & the book to read-- there are some totally cute hysterical & goofy moments that knocked me out of my seat & completely surprised me.

And-- the one altered scene-- I'm thankful they changed it-- that scene without any irrelevant controversial distractions is an Oscar winner if I ever saw one-- completely beautiful & traumatic & sweet & loving. I don't want anything to stand in the way of the characters & what they care about there-- & if I'd been in a room of screaming fans I would have been annoyed for having anything interrupt those beautiful moments during the film-- though I wouldn't kick the deleted scene out of bed if it shows up on the DVD!

Saturday the 24th I saw it again. They're giving away Home books & CDs as raffle prizes, & though I wasn't lucky enough to win-- I was lucky to get a book anyway. One of the guys that won the CD/book set gave me his book because he already had one. It has the Home poster on the cover!

Everyone was filling out pink questionnaires for the film-- One of the guys collecting them said they had about 200 responses from the previous showings, & of those nearly everyone rated the film as excellent. Only 9 of that 200 rated it fair & only 2 poor (2 bastards!)

Colin's got some incredibly powerful moments in this film, and though I'm a fan of his anyway, I was happily blown away with how loving he is as Bobby. It's glorious to watch. I'm highly impressed with the whole film-- all the acting from everyone. It's a very emotional, poignant, & profound story.

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Fmovies: Clare loves Jonathan, who loves Bobby who..., well, loves everybody. Bobby is either straight or homosexual or bisexual or asexual, depending on where you are in the movie. A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD is a relationship movie wherein everything hinges on the relationships, but those relationships remain strangely ill-defined.

Achingly sincere, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD strives for an easygoing reality, not fully appreciating that easygoing can also mean meandering. To its credit we are never sure where the film is going to take us, but to its detriment, the film doesn't seem to know either. The film relies on JULES AND JIM math -- one guy plus one guy divided by one girl equals melodrama -- as a way of exploring the changing social landscape of America from the laid back sex-drugs-and-rock'n'roll sixties to the early days of the AIDS epidemic. It covers a lot of ground, yet doesn't seem to really go anywhere.

The best part of the film is the beginning, before most of the main stars even make an appearance. Set in Cleveland, first in 1967 and then in 1974, the film has some gentle fun looking at suburban attempts at being mod and trendy, while romanticizing drug use and rock music. These are little Bobby Morrow's formative years, where one by one he tragically looses members of his family, leaving him an orphan by age 14. He befriends nerdy Jonathan Glover in high school and ultimately becomes part of the Glover family, whom he seduces with his genuine charm, gentle optimism and an apparently always ready supply of marijuana. It is also where Bobby and Jonathan begin exploring their sexuality. Even with it's discomforting approval of casual drug use, this is where the film is most successful, in the way it deals in an honest and intelligent way with blossoming sexuality and the awkwardness of being a gay teenager.

The film really deals with original ideas in these early stages, but that is just meant to be a foreshadowing of the main storyline, which, unfortunately tends to be rather trite and clichéd.

The bulk of the story takes place in 1984 and thereafter, as the adult Bobby (Colin Farrell) heads to New York to live with Jonathan (Dallas Roberts), who is now more or less openly gay. Jonathan is living with Clare (Robin Wright Penn), a gay guy's gal pal (i.e., fag hag) who is your standard New York City kook, complete with punkish magenta hair, crazy clothes and unconventional ideas that don't seem all that unconventional anymore. Clare loves Jonathan and wants to have his child, but she seduces and becomes pregnant by Bobby, who we suddenly are expected to believe isn't gay at all. The three continue to live together as something more than roommates, but something less than a marriage. And the film sorta-kinda explores the nature of this three-way union.

As a result we get three, or at least two intriguing characters who get lost in a story bereft of a dramatic point. And a perfectly good gay love story becomes an unconvincing a love triangle, where each member ends up playing odd-person-out at some point.

The most troublesome part of the story is that the character of Clare even exists. Clare's main function is to keep Jonathan and Bobby apart as lovers, even as her pregnancy is a gimmick designed to keep them together as family. And though the film is pro-gay on the surface, there is the suggestion that Clare has somehow cured Bobby's homosexuality and the added insinuation that Clare and Jonathan could both find true love

I'm not sure if I just saw the same movie as some of the other reviewers on here. I would include this film as one of the best of 2004 (so far) along with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State, Spartan, and Kill Bill Vol 2. Colin Farrell's character, Bobby Morrow is one of the most fascinating people I've seen in the movies for some time. I hope his performance (and this film) are given the recognition they deserve. The rest of the performances are excellent as well. The screenplay and the direction are also very good, too. The story isn't something that we haven't seen on film before, but the characters and the way the film unfolds isn't your standard fare. Don't listen to the detractors, see this film.

A Home at the End of the World fmovies. I think the movie is excellent. And adaptation of the novel is great.

These days, though, it is not easy to avoid comparing "Home at the End of the World" and "Brokeback Mountain".

It's not about sexuality I am talking about. And not about friendship exceeding usual limits. The most intriguing: what makes these two movies, close to each other emotionally, - really different.

And there is a major difference. The difference. Three main characters of the "Home" are acting at their own will. External social interference is minimal - or even supportive.

In the "Brokeback Mountain" everything is much more real. That's where all thoughts and deeds are stipulated and determined by social environment.

We should be happy that two great movies are available to us. Eventually they both about love, care, responsibility, gratitude. It's all about one thing so much needed to all of us: warmth of the human touch.

While the script may not be a perfect adaptation of the novel (note that it was the author's first, and as such, may have been difficult to make into a cohesive whole. Also, the importance of good editing should not be overlooked).

In any case, the first part of the movie spends a bit too much time on exposition, or perhaps simply doesn't use the time well enough. We're fairly clubbed over the head with Bobby's near-worshipful identification with his older brother. The scenes with Sissy Spacek were far superior to the others, and brought out the best in the young actors playing the boys.

The film's most pleasing aspect was the wonderfully crafted relationships among the four adult characters, played by Farrell, Roberts, Wright Penn and Spacek. They were convincing, and drew the audience into the entire complex of the the interaction between the characters, even among those I've spoken to who identified more strongly with one of them. These scenes are crafted very well, and display the director's skill from live theatre. This part of the movie, I wanted to see more of. Yes, folks, Colin Farrell can indeed act; you'll find many different shadings in his performance, and a vulnerability you probably haven't seen before. Dallas Roberts, who was nominated for an Outer Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in "Nocturne" in New York, and who recently finished a run of a two man play with none other than the renowned Sam Shepherd, does an extremely fine job. He maintains honesty and intensity, and isn't drawn into the easy trap of trying to play the whole weight of the drama at once. He keeps himself firmly in each moment. Robin Wright Penn turns in a delightful performance in a character whose range of outlook on life is wide and complex. Sissy Spacek is simply superb; aside from the tendency to like her in whatever she does, her character took only moments to become highly engaging. The scenic design and location choices were notably excellent.

This movie, which unfortunately has yet to receive wide distribution, is definitely worth seeing. Not only does it feature fine performances and direction in the latter part of the story, but it raises questions about what "family" really IS, and who gets to decide what that definition should be? That makes it a VERY timely film. Unless you've read the book, you probably can't tell what's going to happen at each stage, and you may find yourself with more questions than answers by the time the end credits roll. A piece of art that ASKS questions and doesn't claim to provide all the answers is to be valued and appreciated. It's also unusual for Hollywood to produce, given their corporately-driven tendency to release "neat and packaged" films. It allows far more room for the audience to make up their OWN minds, and thus displays more respect for them. In my opinion, it was this aspect of the script that enabled the producers to draw in three "name" stars, and give us a welcome introduction to the highly talented Dallas Roberts, whose performance takes no back seat to any of the others.

This film contains varied & perhaps unconventional relationships. For that reason, it has had a lot of screenings at Gay/Lesbian film festivals. Don't let that fool you into overlooking this film. Its appeal is in the humanity of the characters, not their sexual preferences.

I highly recommend the film. Be patient with the first po

The movie wasn't the book, but the performances of all involved were inspired. I admit to seeing the movie because Colin Farrell was in it and not being sure, after the book, that he could become Bobby.

But he did, with a performance that astonished me.

What is unfortunate it that the movie, in some ways, has been limited in appeal by the "sexuality theme" that has become attached to it. Yes, Jonathan is gay. But labeling Bobby bi-sexual is reducing him to a caricature. Bobby's life was about love, needing and getting it from the people in his life. He found no limits in how to return it. Imagine, no inhibitions in showing love and affection! Any scene with Bobby in it just continued to show his tender and honest heart.

Then there were the rampant rumors of the "deleted scene". I totally understand why the scene was cut. It would have been unnecessary and gratuitous.

It is unfortunate this film wasn't released to a greater number of screens. Missing these performances would truly be a tragedy.