Rated
R (Language including Sexual References, Some Drug Use and Brief Violence)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 41 Minutes
Cast-
Steve
Carell-Dodge Peterson
Keira
Knightley-Penelope 'Penny' Lockhart
Rob
Corddry-Warren
Connie
Britton-Diane
Patton
Oswalt-Roache
Melanie
Lynskey-Karen
Adam
Brody-Owen
Derek
Luke-Speck
Martin
Sheen-Frank
William
Petersen-Trucker
Bob
Stephenson-Officer Wally Johnson
T.J.
Miller-Chipper Host/Darcy
Gillian
Jacobs-Waitress/Katie
Nancy
Carell-Linda Peterson
Directed
by Lorene Scafaria
 |
| It may be the end of the world but there's always time for one more road trip! |
What
would you do if you found out that the world was ending three weeks from now? Some
people will spend their last moments with family and friends while others will
just lose whatever self-control they have but for me, I honestly do not know
how I would react to such news. The only way I can properly answer this
question is when the end of the world is actually
upon us. Last year Christian radio host Harold Camping of Family Radio falsely
predicted that Judgment Day would occur on May 21, 2011. Numerous advertisements
were plastered all over the subway but of course, nothing happened. Camping later revised his prediction, saying that
May 21st was a 'spiritual day of judgment' and that the actual end of the world will take place on October 21, 2011. Once
again, nothing happened and Camping
became something of a laughingstock. What's worse is that there are people who
actually believe him. Films dealing
with apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scenarios are nothing new but there's been a
renewed interest in them due to the hubbub surrounding the Mayan calendar where
a cataclysmic event is supposed to take place on December 21, 2012. Director
Roland Emmerich used this as inspiration for his 2009 effects-driven disaster
flick "2012" but recent attempts at exploring the apocalypse has been
focused on intimate character drama such as Lars von Trier's
"Melancholia" from 2011 and Zal Batmanglij's "Sound of My
Voice." Making her directorial debut is Lorene Scafaria with "Seeking
a Friend for the End of the World," an apocalyptic comedy/drama starring
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. Despite its decidedly bleak premise,
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is a whimsical, funny,
and often touching look at the human need to connect in the face of their
inevitable doom.
A news segment on the radio announces that the space shuttle Deliverance has failed in its mission of
stopping a seventy-mile wide asteroid named Matilda from colliding with Earth
and that the end of the world will occur in three weeks. Listening to the
broadcast in their car is Dodge Peterson (Steve Carell) and his wife Linda
(Nancy Carell), who promptly leaves her husband after hearing the shocking
news. Unsure of how to cope with the impending apocalypse, Dodge continues his
day-to-day routine of selling insurance. He visits his friends Warren (Rob
Corddry) and his wife Diane (Connie Britton), who wants to set Dodge up with
someone so that he wouldn't die alone. However, Warren couldn't care less and
is spending his last days getting drunk and not giving a sh*t about anything.
Later that night at a party, Dodge reunites with another friend named Roache
(Patton Oswalt), who explains that he has slept with a different woman every
night since the news made the announcement that the end is coming. Back at
home, Dodge looks through his belongings and finds a picture of him and his
ex-girlfriend Olivia, along with a harmonica. He begins playing but stops when
he sees his neighbor, Penny Lockhart (Keira Knightley), sobbing uncontrollably.
Inviting her in, Penny reveals that before she dies she would like to see her
parents in the UK one last time but is unable to due to all flights being
grounded. The next day, Penny gives Dodge three years of mail that had been
delivered to the wrong person. Among them is a letter from Olivia, where she
reveals that she recently went through a divorce and that Dodge has always been
the love of her life. Dodge realizes that he must find her before the end comes
and enlists the aid of Penny, telling her that he knows someone with a plane
that can fly her back to the UK. They meet a number of quirky characters along
their trip, all the while falling for each other despite the looming
apocalypse.
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is
essentially a road trip film and while there are some laughs to be had, there
is a depressing vibe to the comedy given its premise. Scafaria does not
trivialize the film's serious subject matter and provides a nice balance with
its more lighthearted elements, humorously examining how various people would
cope with the coming apocalypse. Some commit suicide or spend their last
moments with friends and family members but others throw an end-of-the-world bash
where everyone just doesn't give a damn anymore, throwing their
morals/inhibitions out the window. Dodge's friend Warren tells his teenage son
to go f*ck himself and gives vodka to all his children while heroin gets passed
around to all the partygoers. The world is ending; might as well die while
hopped up on drugs! Of course, what the film is really about is our innate fear
of dying alone and the need to find someone, anyone, to spend time with when faced with an inevitable cataclysm.
Despite the age difference between them, Steve Carell and Keira Knightley make
for a convincing couple because the film takes its time building up their
relationship in an organic way. Their characters are so different from each other but Dodge's introverted personality is perfectly
complemented by Penny's flighty, overly emotional demeanor. How the film ends
isn't a surprise (hint: it's not happy) so the main focus is the journey of how
these two people who are polar opposites come to realize that they are
soul-mates. During their road trip, Dodge and Penny meet a trucker who hires an
assassin to kill him, a police officer in total denial of what is happening, and
later they come upon a TGI Friday's-like
restaurant called Friendsies where a
happy birthday song suddenly descends into a full-blown orgy. Though episodic,
these scenes are fun in a bleak way but it's really the drama that stands out,
with Dodge reuniting with his father Frank (Martin Sheen), whom he hasn't
spoken to for twenty-five years, and sharing a much needed cathartic moment
with him. "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" begins to lose
steam toward the end but thankfully, it doesn't overstay its welcome more than
it should. What began as a dark and cynical comedy evolves into an oddly
bittersweet film despite its fatalistic premise.
The performances are all
uniformly excellent thanks to the emotional honesty behind them. Steve Carell
isn't exactly doing anything new here as Dodge is similar to his roles in
2006's "Little Miss Sunshine" and 2007's "Dan in Real
Life." It's the type of role he can play in his sleep but Carell manages
to find the right amount of pathos to make you care about what his character is
going through. Keira Knightley hasn't been in the spotlight since her
appearance in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy but she's kept
herself busy with a number of smaller productions such as 2010's "Never
Let Me Go" and last year's "A Dangerous Method." Later this
year, she will star in Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina," based upon Leo
Tolstoy's 1877 novel of the same name. The actress has dabbled in comedy before
(2002's "Bend It Like Beckham" and 2003's "Love Actually")
but very rarely. Her filmography is largely dominated by period dramas. Knightley
is appealing given her character's bubbly personality and although understated,
there's a palpable chemistry between her and Carell that will allow audiences
to believe that the two can be soul-mates. The rest of the cast only pop up for
cameos but they make the most of their small roles, such as Rob Corddry's
Warren with his 'don't give a sh*t' attitude to Patton Oswalt's hedonistic
Roache.
Released on June 22, 2012, "Seeking a Friend for the End of the
World" has received mixed reviews with 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics
found it 'tender, charming, and well-acted, [but the film] is unfortunately
hamstrung by jarring tonal shifts and a disappointing final act.' This is
something I do not agree with as I felt Scafaria handled the tone perfectly
fine and the ending was what I expected, unless the critics were expecting a
more uplifting conclusion. Unfortunately, no
one saw the film as it debuted in tenth
place with a shockingly low $3.8 million, although the production budget was
only $10 million so it's not a huge loss for Focus Features. Still, I find it
puzzling that the studio would release an indie comedy/drama in the middle of
summer. Given that "People Like Us" also flopped, it's clear that
audiences are just not interested in watching characters facing an existential
crisis and would rather go for whatever easily digestible product that
Hollywood releases every week. "Seeking a Friend for the End of the
World" makes for a successful debut for Lorene Scafaria and I look forward
to seeing more of her work in the future. Funny, touching, and featuring two
likable leads, this is the type of film that should be made more often so if you're
turned off by the latest blockbuster, go see this one before it quickly
disappears from theaters.
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
"I
promise not to steal anything if you promise not to rape me."
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