Review of A Home at the End of the World (2004) by Jennifer A — 22 Feb 2006

[b]A Home at the End of the World[/b], directed by Michael Mayer, is a coming-of-age story focusing on Bobby, played by Erik Smith as a boy, and Colin Farrell as an adult. After a tragic event, Bobby and childhood friend Jonathan become inseparable, even experimenting sexually. When high school ends, Bobby stays and Jonathan moves on. Bobby, a dreamer, is a bit of a slacker stuck in the past. Jonathan has moved onto New York, now living as an openly gay men and sharing an apartment with best friend Clare (Robin Penn Wright) where he hopes to father her child. Things get complicated when Bobby decides to move to New York to be closer to his old friend and ends up falling for Clare. However Bobby and Jonathan still have feelings towards one another. Also stars Sissy Spacek as Jonathan's mother.

I enjoyed the first part of the film which explored the boy's relationship growing up. It was warm and sincere, and Sissy Spacek's character was an integral part of the film. However the film lost all it's steam once the two boys reached adulthood and the story focused on the relationship between Bobby, Clare and Jonathan. The plot became muddled and laughable at times, and Colin Farrell seemed woefully miscast in my opinion. The predictable ending was the final nail in the coffin of this movie that started out so promising.