Review of A Home at the End of the World (2004) by Jim C — 27 Jul 2010

For a very long time, my favorite movie was 'The Big Chill'. Part of the reason why was the great ensemble cast, part was the great story, and part was the brilliant soundtrack. 'A Home At The End Of The World' is very much like that; a bit of this, and a lot of that, all put together to make a thing greater than the sum of its parts, even though those parts are each superb in itself. From the very beginning, this film sits comfortably in the cozy space in your psyche and warms you - the young boys were so good, and Ryan Donowho....wow...I can't wait to see more of him. His presence is riveting, and he's hard not to look at, I daresay he's even beautiful.

Colin Farrell made me a fan for life with his performance here. I was already a fan, but he made this role something more than the words on the script. Sissy Spacek was delightful as Alice, the suburban mom with just a touch of hippie, and maybe a dash of stoner. Robin Wright Penn's Clare was the force that bound the boys together despite not being able to stick it out to the end. And Dallas Roberts's Jonathan was half a dozen of the gay boys I've dated, and more than a few that I've tricked with. Erik Smith, the 1974 Bobby, has a presence of his own, and I can see him going places, too. He did a phenomenal job, especially considering that he was working with Sissy Spacek, something of a legend.

There were parts of the movie, like when the teenage boys were pretend sleeping, but really trying to get into each other's pants, that made me squirm a bit. I'll let discretion be the better part of valor on that, but I think you catch my drift. But every scene held my attention, and it was like I was in the movie itself. It takes a strong story, great casting and acting, but it mainly takes a great director to make that happen.

I heard "Soave Sia Il Vento" from "Cosi Fan Tutte" by Mozart in the scene on the rooftop, and then in the closing credits, I noticed that Tom Hulce is the producer. Coincidence? Probably not, but nicely done anyway.

Yeah, it's hard not to love the soundtrack, but I won't go into it. There's far too much on there for me to talk about, and then I'd just be rambling. Let's just say that I'll be looking for it to buy.

It's a great movie. It made me cry. It made me laugh. I'll watch it again. And again.