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Home at the End of the World, A
Warner Independent Pictures


7.0

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
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FILM:

Flicka

MPAA RATING: R for strong drug content, sexuality, nudity, language and a disturbing accident

Starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Sissy Spacek, Dallas Roberts, Joshua Close, and Matt Frewer

This chronicle of two childhood friends looks at what we mean by love, commitment and loyalty. Perhaps most importantly, it re-examines the idea of family, and in doing so shows us its very essence and the ways in which that essence can be redefined. (Warner Independent Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Michael Cunningham (also novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Michael Mayer
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 2, 2004 Video: November 2, 2004 Theatrical: July 23, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	120 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

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.

100

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Charged by a passion for life, A Home at the End of the World is a major achievement.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Colin Farrell is astonishing in the movie.

Variety David Rooney

Driven by soulful performances and by a genuine sense of wonder for the unpredictable permutations of love and family.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The movie is really a lovely ensemble piece. Beautifully conceived and written by Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours), the film has a distinctly novelistic and literate style.

Premiere Sara Brady

Home is a difficult film for its viewer, because none of the leads fall into the comfortable categories of film characters played by movie stars.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

How many movies these days leave you wanting more? The funny and heartfelt Home is a small treasure.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

There's something essential and emotional missing in this character-driven piece. It's more an admirably performed and observed study -- of a time, place and three very different people -- than it is the heartbreaking and engrossing story it could have been.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Bobby marks a turning point for Colin Farrell, whose vulgarities and inelegance tend to get the better of his range.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Watching Spacek dance around the bedroom, slowly loosening up while Laura Nyro plays, is one of the joys of this cinematic season.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Cunningham's 1990 novel makes an assured, if not entirely satisfying, transition to the big screen in this terrifically acted exploration of the bonds that transcend traditional notions of family.

Newsweek David Ansen

Packs an irresistible emotional punch.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Cunningham's depth of feeling transformed the book's premise into something beyond sniggers or camp, and the best moments in the movie, which was directed by theater veteran Michael Mayer in his film debut and adapted by Cunningham, have a similar emotional charge.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Three actors play Bobby at different ages, and none of them quite jibe with the other – 16-year-old Bobby seems far savvier than the twenty-something version (who is played by a defanged Colin Farrell).

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

The beautiful Wright Penn has a harder time anchoring the free-spirited Clare in territory that feels honest and true - there's a stagey quality to the actress' performance that goes beyond the stagey quality of her character.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The actors here are uniformly excellent, and the story has a definite lightweight charm.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Farrell has the toughest role, playing a man who doesn't understand the powerful crosscurrents of his own emotions, the love, guilt and loyalty that become opposing forces and begin to destroy the relationships he covets.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

At the movie's end, nuance is all we have left; beyond the admirable efforts of some of the actors, the picture leaves behind nothing so human as a fingerprint.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The cast is good and the story affecting, though at times Michael Mayer's direction makes the production seem a little choked up over its own enlightenment. Sissy Spacek is memorable in a secondary role.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The film's first half is easily the best and brightest. As the movie moves into the more saddening sections, however, it loses most of its power.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Most of the movie feels like Farrell's performance: deeply sincere, and more showy than convincing.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

I can't think of another contemporary novel -- unless it be Cunningham's far more ambitious and less successful "The Hours" -- less suited for the journey to film under any direction but that of, say, Russian dreamer Alexander Sokurov.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

In parceling his story into discrete scenes, Mr. Cunningham has turned a delicate novel into a bland and clumsy film. A Home at the End of the World, is 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.

TV Guide Ken Fox

A perfect example of how a top-flight cast can compensate for unimaginative filmmaking.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The picture is also the story of one character in particular, Bobby, and when it comes to Bobby, A Home at the End of the World is sappy and bogus.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

The end result is a slow (occasionally glacially) paced movie that relies more on soulful facial expressions than dialogue that honestly represents what the characters are feeling.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

There are times when one suspects that this film potentially could be the raunchiest sitcom pilot ever.

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

The novel's interesting character of Alice, Jonathan's mother, is so cut and drained of complexity that it becomes a polite, blank waste of Sissy Spacek's talent.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

The result: some intriguing moments, even more intriguing performances, and a film that doesn't quite work.

Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo

The film equivalent of the blind date described as "really nice." It's neither bad nor good, just sort of earnest and well-meaning.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The themes of A Home at the End of the World are all of the greeting-card variety -- home is where the heart is, family is what we make it, etc. -- and while they've been presented with great warmth and sincerity, they still come off as more than a little banal.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Farrell looks so stymied we feel for the guy -- and when the door closes on A Home at the End of the World, that's the only feeling in town.

Village Voice Jorge Morales

Cunningham's Cliff's Notes adaptation shrinks the character to a monosyllabic man-child with a puppy-dog stare.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Well-meaning yawn-fest.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark gave it a10:
A very touching and moving film. Colin Farrell did an outstanding job; his character, though not unflawed, saw the best in people. There was an innocence about him. My favorite seen is when Colin's character, Bobby, consoles Jonathan, played by Dallas Roberts, about his "bruise" (scene 21 on disc). Very believable; they have a great connection which started at a young age that some others could only wish they have.

Ray S. gave it a6:
The movies message was that families can come in all shapes and sizes -and sexual preferences- a plea for tolerance-the acting is good-it got a bit too warm and fuzzy at the end.

Joe K. gave it a10:
Beautiful.

Vince H. gave it a 5:
Excellent acting in this film (despite the over-praise Ferrell has been getting, the best acting in this film comes from Robin Wright Penn), but my criticism of this film is the same as a lot that I have read here. The script is my main problem; it is too talky and feels too "adapted", unlike say David Hare's script of Cunningham's "The Hours". The characters talk and act as if characters in an indie character film and not real life. I know that sounds vague but it's the only way I can describe it. But this movie does have one of the most moving last 10 minutes of any all year, and the last scene is heartbreaking.

d smobey gave it a 3:
With Sissy Spacek and Robin Wright you'd expect better but there is too much squeezed into a small space and all of the charactor development is sacrificed. Their actions are often inscrutable and confusing. Anachronisms are so rampant that a sense of chronology - critical to this story - is lost. If you are young you may not notice, but to those who lived thru these times I couldn't even spot the decade. Really was hoping for the best but by half way thru it became MST dialogue time for us. My wife loved the book, so she was even more disappointed.

Judy T. gave it a 3:
A waste of some good actors time and energies. A movie about some trivial people trying to make itself moving and important.

Greg T. gave it an 8:
An interesting movie about a gay man, a bisexual man and a likeable woman and their intertwined relationship. Colin Farrell was dripping Irish testosterone as usual and is very likeable in this movie. You have to give this man credit. He can't really be type cast and is a very accomplished actor. He seems to tackle just about any roll that he undertakes.

Home at the End of the World, A Warner Independent Pictures

Home at the End of the World, A
Warner Independent Pictures