Review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) by Jesse K — 27 Mar 2016

A sweet film that is set against literally the end of the world. It didn't do itself much favours when it marketed itself as a comedy. Crowds were expecting something completely different. Especially when Steve Carell is the leading man.

Here he is the strangely named Dodger. A meek, unassuming guy who just exists. He's not a stupid person but is utterly unaware of what is going on around him. He's not aware his wife is having an affair, or that others see she's so unhappy when she's with him. He even says at one point "I don't know what I want". And you truly believe him. He's downbeat, but not a depressive. He's looking for that certain spark, which he thinks is his ex, but turns out to be a more extroverted neighbour that he's never really met before, played by Keira Knightley.

They set off on a sort of quasi road trip to find Olivia, his high school sweetheart who sent him a letter (that through a small setup) he only just received that tells him she's divorced and she considers him the love of her life, just as he's trying to figure out how these last 3 weeks of humanity should play out for him.

Knightley character, Penny, has also gone through her own romantic issues by breaking up with her boyfriend, causing her to miss the last opportunity to return back to the UK and spend humanity's remaining hours and days with her family. Hence the road trip is born.

The writing is sharp, although a little cliched in parts. While the actors have genuine chemistry, and there are some really tender, and poetic dialogue spoken between them, which explains their characters, and their motivations - Dodger's in particular and his monologue about what happened between him and Olivia. Quite moving.

There are some nice little cameo moments. Martin Sheen as Dodger's long estranged father (which is never really played up in as tense-a-way as you might have expected having not seen each other in 25 years. Also William Petersen as a suicidal, lonely truck driver. Both are in it for brief periods, and Martin Sheen's screen time does allow for the overly used rom-com cliche of laughing around a dinner table with saccharine music playing, but you get the feeling that any actors could have played either of these roles.

But the lead duo are certainly the centre and driving force of this movie. Quite a unique genre: rom-com, road-trip with the end of the world in just days time.

The most sweet moment arguably is when Penny has her phone conversation with her family on the phone. Again, just a short scene but a lot is conveyed through the dialogue and Knightley's reactions. Very well done.

However tender and heart-felt the movie is in parts, it does feel like it's lacking something. Maybe a more earnest representation of the upcoming apocalypse. You never really feel like there's a threat apart from the odd on-screen countdown.

For my take, you never truly believe it when he tells her near the end that SHE is the love of his life. It just doesn't ring too true. Too convenient, and if they were to try and have a relationship without the apocalypse backdrop, you feel it wouldn't last more than 6 months. They're just too different as characters go.

Overall, a charming film with a heavy finish, that does show that love can show up as and when you might not look for it, but this is not the kind of film that will stay with you much after you've finished watching it.