Movies are rated on
a Scale of 1 to 4 stars with 4 stars being best.
By Edgar "El
Toro" Arce
A Home at the End of the World
RATING:
Starring: Colin
Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Sissy Spacek, Dallas Roberts, Harris
Allan, Joshua Close, Wendy Crewson, Ryan Donowho, Matt Frewer,
Brian Rhodes, Erik Smith. Written by Keith Bunin, Michael Cunningham.
Directed by Michael Mayer.
Rated R for strong drug
content, sexuality, nudity, language and a disturbing accident.
A Home
at the End of the World is going to be one of those movies that
will be forgotten in the sea of all the other films coming out.
I for one liked the film and at times even though I had a problem
with some stuff, overall the film is very nicely done.
Home is
a love story, of two individuals. Not the classic love story that
comes to mind but of the human soul. Bobby (Colin Farrell) is
a young, troubled (maybe enlightened) soul that we are first introduced
to in the opening frames of the film. He’s virgin-like in
many ways, and for the most part stays that way for the entire
film. After we see him in a very tender bonding moment with his
older brother, followed by a very violent one, we realize that
this is a very pivotal moment for bobby, one that will change
him for the rest of his life.
While
in school he makes friends with Jonathon. From the moment they
meet, they are inseparable. Jonathon looks to Bobby as what is
unconventional in the world around him. Bobby, on the other hand,
sees in Jonathon, and his family, stability, warmth, love, and
all the other things that go with being part of a family. The
two feed off each other like two peas in a pod. While bonding
with one another, there are some very beautiful, yet awkward scenes
where the two boys are discovering one another’s sexuality.
Although at times very intense, the scenes also give off a sense
of relief, in more ways than none, which each other bring to the
table. There are some fantastic scenes with Sissy Spacek in the
film, that center around waling in on the boys during one of these
moments that is just priceless and performed perfectly by the
legend that Spacek is.
As they
grow older, they grow apart, only to hook up again in New York
when they are now adults. Jonathon (Dallas Roberts) is out with
his sexuality, and living with Clare, played by the chameleon
actor Robin Wright Penn. As soon as Bobby shows up only to add
his spices to the mix, the three of them reinvent themselves into
a new family.
I
really liked this movie a lot, and thought Robin Wright Penn was
just remarkable as Clare and could not recognize her at first.
Her performance as a free spirited, new age thinker was really
done well, and I really could sense the urgency she had for wanting
to have a very unique way of living. Dallas Roberts I thought
was awesome! I was so into his performance, I almost thought at
one point that he was the real character that he merely meant
to portray as an actor. In other words, I got lost in his performance.
Colin Farrell, although well acted, I couldn’t get into
the character he was trying to portray. I think the problem was
not in his performance but rather in the fact that he is an establish
star that is best known for his womanizing, beer swigging, middle
finger, swearing tough guy that he is. Had this movie been done
by him his first time out as an actor, I would have believed in
his performance more. Instead, Hollywood has done its job in forever
cementing in my mind the fact that Collin is quite the opposite
of his character in this film. He’s not insecure, alone
and looking for love, in fact he’s busy, has people dying
to spend time with him, and can have any woman he wants at the
drop of a hat.
Aside
from those little hitches, I don’t think people should ignore
this film. In fact, save your 10 bucks from all the other films
and check this one out, it’s worth it, and it has a decent
story. It’s just that in this day of CGI and how many face
to face battles can you fit into one movie, it’s nice to
see one like this where there’s acting going on, and characters
are being presented in a beautifully written manner. A home at
the end of the world is not a shoot’em up, action, thriller,
it’s an acting tour de force that should be watched and
appreciated.
While
in school he makes friends with Jonathon. From the moment they
meet, they are inseparable. Jonathon looks to Bobby as what is
unconventional in the world around him. Bobby, on the other hand,
sees in Jonathon, and his family, stability, warmth, love, and
all the other things that go with being part of a family. The
two feed off each other like two peas in a pod. While bonding
with one another, there are some very beautiful, yet awkward scenes
where the two boys are discovering one another’s sexuality.
Although at times very intense, the scenes also give off a sense
of relief, in more ways than none, which each other bring to the
table. There are some fantastic scenes with Sissy Spacek in the
film, that center around waling in on the boys during one of these
moments that is just priceless and performed perfectly by the
legend that Spacek is.
I
really liked this movie a lot, and thought Robin Wright Penn was
just remarkable as Clare and could not recognize her at first.
Her performance as a free spirited, new age thinker was really
done well, and I really could sense the urgency she had for wanting
to have a very unique way of living. Dallas Roberts I thought
was awesome! I was so into his performance, I almost thought at
one point that he was the real character that he merely meant
to portray as an actor. In other words, I got lost in his performance.
Colin Farrell, although well acted, I couldn’t get into
the character he was trying to portray. I think the problem was
not in his performance but rather in the fact that he is an establish
star that is best known for his womanizing, beer swigging, middle
finger, swearing tough guy that he is. Had this movie been done
by him his first time out as an actor, I would have believed in
his performance more. Instead, Hollywood has done its job in forever
cementing in my mind the fact that Collin is quite the opposite
of his character in this film. He’s not insecure, alone
and looking for love, in fact he’s busy, has people dying
to spend time with him, and can have any woman he wants at the
drop of a hat.