Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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173 of 190 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a Wonderful World it Could Be, September 12, 2004
Here's another DVD I'll definitely be buying when it comes out later this year. "A Home at the end of the World" is one of the most frustrating, yet also one of the most rewarding, films I've seen in a while. Fright wigs aside, it does a masterful job of evoking the late `60s in America. People have a habit of dying around 14-year-old Bobby Morrow: first his brother (in the film's most visually arresting scene), then his mother, and then his father. This sets up a situation wherein Bobby must move in with the family of his best friend from school, Jonathan Glover. When the two boys sleep together, even before Bobby moves in permanently, Jonathan puts the moves on him, and, wondrously, Bobby gets involved. The two are inseparable until Jonathan's mother (played by the luminous Sissy Spacek) discovers them in a VW together and Jonathan pulls away from Bobby. Jonathan ultimately moves to New York, but Bobby stays behind with the Glovers, until, eight years later, daddy Glover decides that it's time Bobby move out on his own. Bobby follows Jonathan to New York, only to be rejected once again by his childhood friend, at which point he turns to Jonathan's roommate, the free-spirited Clare, for solace. What follows is fairly predictable if you've seen any movies about gay relationships in the late seventies and early eighties, but the part that rings true is the self-destructive relationship between the male leads. Jonathan wants no one but Bobby, but can't appreciate that he already has him. Bobby wants Jonathan, but is willing to "settle" for a relationship with Clare, especially when it comes with the promise of a family and a child. Jonathan throws himself into a promiscuous lifestyle and pays the price all movie homosexuals must pay for sleeping around. But Bobby is still there. And the question becomes, why? Is Bobby fundamentally gay or bi or neuter? Does it matter? Bobby, as played by Colin Farrell, is infinitely vulnerable (his younger avatar, Eric Smith, seems much more of an adult than the childlike Farrell); Bobby just wants a family. He loves the people who are willing to fill that void in his life. These include Jonathan, Clare, their daughter, and the Glovers. His pansexuality is a product of need. I kind of like this concept. Before Oscar Wilde, people for the most part had sex. They didn't worry about labels, because the labels didn't exist. Sodomy was a behavior disapproved of by the church, but the implication is that people engaged in it anyway. So who were these sodomites? They were probably people like Bobby, who were just looking for love. It's the Jonathans of this world who need the labels, and it's the labels that lead to heartbreak. Thanks are due to novelist and screenwriter Michael ("The Hours") Cunningham for reminding us of this basic fact. Further kudos are due to a soundtrack that includes Laura Nyro, Leonard Cohen, and Dusty Springfield.
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61 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Small, Quiet But Beautiful Movie, July 31, 2004
One of the characters in this moving film says that there is a big, beautiful, noisy world out there. Thought quiet and small, this movie is certainly beautiful. Written by Michael Cunningham (THE HOURS) and based on his novel by the same name, this film stars Colin Farrell (Bobby), Robin Wright Penn (Clare), Dallas Roberts (Jonathan) and Sissy Spacek as Alice, Jonathan's mother. It's difficult to single out one of these four as being better than the others; they all give extraordinary performances. The action begins in 1967 In Cleveland, jumps to 1974 and then to 1982 in New York City. The film is essentially about making a home, redefining family--our family consists of those who love us-- seizing the day, living life-- as Tennyson would say- to the lees.
There are funny moments here-- as in any life-- I'm thinking now of the hilarious scene where the teenaged Bobby gets Jonathan's mom to smoke her first joint-- and many nice touches. The same mom, who becomes his mom after the death of his parents, teaches Bobby the secrets of baking a pie, a skill he later uses as a grownup when he and Jonathan open their own "Home" restaurant. The clothes and household furnishings look and feel right for the period; the soundtrack contains music of the times, some Dylan, Leonard Cohen and a little Mozart, (COSI FAN TUTTI) which is so appropriate since in much of Mozart as if every life, there is often sorrow just beneath the joy.
Predictably, the media have made much of Mr. Farrell's nixing his frontal nudity shot. He is absolutely right for such a scene would have been completely gratuitous. He looks fine fully clothed.
When I saw the movie, at the end the entire audience was completely silent and did not move for most of the credits, a sure sign that this film was a success. Surely A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD will be one of the best movies of the year.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Miss This One, October 7, 2004
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.
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