A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD

One man is loved deeply by a woman and by another man. And he loves them both back. There may be trouble ahead for this loving trio.

CAST: Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts, Sissy Spacek, Matt Frewer, Erik Smith, Harris Allan, Andrew Chalmers, Ryan Donowho

DIRECTOR: Michael Mayer

SCREENWRITER: Michael Cunningham

“Cunningham has turned a delicate novel into a bland and clumsy film…so thoroughly decent in its intentions and so tactful in its methods that people are likely to persuade themselves that it's better than it is, which is not very good…Bobby's great gift, inherited from his brother, is an ability to appreciate ‘this whole big, beautiful noisy world.’ That this line needs to be uttered twice in the film is evidence of its failure, since it shows nothing of this world that is not small, pretty and quiet…Farrell tries to signal the buried hurt that has come from so much youthful tragedy by pausing in the middle of sentences and setting his upper lip atremble. Yes, he can act. And once he stops trying so hard to prove that he can, he will be a good actor.” --A. O. Scott, The New York Times

“‘A Home at the End of the World’ showcases the softer side of Colin Farrell--and if this limp romantic drama about a threesome is any indication, we'll gladly stick with the cussing, boozing womanizer we've come to know and love. This flaccid adaptation of a period novel by Michael Cunningham has generated lots of pre-release publicity because of a full-frontal shot of Farrell--deleted after early screenings, its producers claim, because it provoked gasps from audiences. Well, this well-meaning yawn-fest needs all the help it can get. Farrell—one of the most dynamic actors of his generation --is not only ludicrously miscast but totally unbelievable as Bobby, a sweetly passive 24-year-old virgin from the Midwest.” --Lou Lumenick, The New York Post

"Prepare yourself for an extraordinarily touching experience…The delicately balanced nuances of its narrative sophistication and its ironic grasp of moral and emotional passion left me shattered. Richer and better constructed than ‘The Hours,’ this is Michael Cunningham’s best writing. Lyrical, sweet-natured, touching, sexy and very funny…Colin Farrell is a revelation. Without a trace of arrogance, he shows the beauty of an enviable boy who never learns how to look into a mirror and see what everyone else sees…He doesn’t just act out the words; he plays his feelings. Never mind that missing nude scene. This time, it’s great to watch him unzip a different talent, bigger and better than anything he’s hiding in his pants.” --Rex Reed, New York Observer

“For all its shortcomings—bad wigs and truncated transitions as it leaps from '70s suburban Cleveland to N.Y.C.'s East Village and Woodstock in the '80s—this unconventional love story packs an irresistible emotional punch.” --David Ansen, Newsweek

"Wright Penn lets us into Clare’s divided soul, and there are moments, such as when she sees Jonathan and Bobby dancing and it sinks in for her that she will forever be an outcast, that are immensely poignant. Dallas Roberts, in his first major movie, seems to have an intuitive grasp of just how much to give up to the camera in order to hold it...The pivotal role of Bobby is certainly a stretch for Colin Farrell, who is normally cast as a macho hellion, and he’s stretched too thin. It doesn’t help that Mayer saddles him early on with a shoulder-length shag haircut that might have been worn by one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men.” --Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

“Penn is terrific as the mature woman waking up to the fact that she’s a fifth wheel. Also wonderful is relative newcomer Dallas Roberts as the volatile, intelligent Jonathan, who won’t declare himself until it may be too late. The jarring and crucially weak link is Farrell, a talented actor woefully miscast and comically uncomfortable here. Thrashing around in a character he clearly doesn’t understand, Farrell plays him to the end as Bobby the Bumpkin.” --Ella Taylor, LA Weekly

“In this doggedly optimistic soap opera, somebody is constantly being enlightened and uplifted by somebody else. Hardly a scene goes by when we don't hear a mini-sermon about the true meaning of love and death, sex and friendship, drugs and rock…If Michael Mayer’s directorial debut is disappointingly stilted and contrived, it is certainly not a total loss. There are moments of genuine warmth and even a smidgeon of fun here and there. Best of all, the four lead actors perform as if they believed every last word of Michael Cunningham’s unbelievable screenplay.” –Guy Flatley, Moviecrazed

“The film is compassionate and touching, but less complex and resonant than the book…At its best, ‘A Home at the End of the World’ has great emotional strength. But it's not the towering achievement it might have been if Cunningham had stayed truer to his original inspiration.” --David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor

“When it comes to Bobby, ‘A Home at the End of the World’ is sappy and bogus…Here's this sly, adept teenager who can manipulate anybody, who has adults eating out of the palm of his hand. And then we meet him eight years later and find him a spacey innocent in a bad haircut, a borderline idiot savant, only subtract the savant part…If he were only miscast, Farrell would have a fighting chance of wrestling this one to the ground. But he's playing a romantic fantasy, a novelist's conceit. Perhaps book critics let Cunningham, who also wrote ‘The Hours,’ get away with Bobby, but he's just too wispy for the more tangible demands of screen drama..” --Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

“It has the richness of a novelist's psychological underpinnings. But it's slow going, overly precious in the touchy-feely moments, and it bridges a period --from the go-for-it '60s to the AIDS-wracked '80s -- that is a minefield of stereotypes it does not always avoid.” --Jami Bernard, The New York Daily News

"In the book, the strong-but-silent Bobby's interior monologues gave him a semblance of an inner life, but Cunningham's Cliff's Notes adaptation shrinks the character to a monosyllabic man-child with a puppy-dog stare… While the novel explores the minutiae that threaten the delicate balance of this bizarre love triangle, the film leaves us wondering what Bobby's friends see in him.” --Jorges Morales, The Village Voice

“…tender yet tautly orchestrated adaptation of Michael Cunningham's novel… Directed by theatrical veteran Michael Mayer, ‘A Home at the End of the World’ keeps the main focus on the unusual dynamics of this ménage à trois, thus fashioning a resonant chamber piece for its talented actors. Farrell seems a rogue element in more ways than one. Yet when, after Penn's Clare challenges him to come up with one thing he can't do, Farrell's Bobby almost whispers, ‘I can't be alone,’ the effect both crushes and inspires.” --Gene Seymour, Newsday

“‘The End of the World’ is set up to showcase the absolute adorableness of Colin Farrell. It does an adequate enough job of that. But it is Sissy Spacek, in a handful of deftly played scenes, who really earns what limited attention the film deserves…Spacek makes you believe that she accepts the boys' gay relationship, and in the movie's one perfect scene, Bobby gets her stoned for the first time, and they dance…There has been much talk about a full-frontal nude scene that's been cut out of the release print, and Farrell has stated that he's pleased with that decision. Doesn't sound like the old rogue we knew and loved.” --Bob Strauss, LA Times

“A lovely ensemble piece. Beautifully conceived and written by Michael Cunningham, the film has a distinctly novelistic and literate style…Though this intimate portrait has minor flaws — mostly involving contradictory aspects of Farrell's character, occasional excess sweetness and an unrealistic look at parenting — it is an intriguing look at an unconventional definition of family, whose members don't speak in Hollywood clichés. The unexpectedly gentle, almost pensive ending is especially refreshing.” --Claudia Puig, USA Today