A Home at the End of the World

Based on Michael Cunningham's novel and adapted by the author himself, A Home at the End of the World opens in 1967 as a nine-year-old Bobby Morrow comes under the influence of his free thinking older brother Carlton (Donowho) whom he exposes to sex and drugs in equal spades. After Carlton dies in an accident and other family members start dropping like flies, Bobby comes into contact with Jonathan Glover (Allan) and the pair begin a friendship. That friendship blossoms, with Glover's family virtually adopting Bobby. Some fifteen years later, Jonathan (now played by Roberts) invites Bobby (Farrell) to stay with him and his hat designing, decidedly kooky flatmate Clare (Robin Wright Penn) in New York, where they learn that some things never change.

One man's tenderness is another's blandness, and A Home at the End of the World is bound to infuriate as many as it enchants. Despite its surprisingly short run time, it feels like a much longer film, perhaps due to the staggered passage of the narrative. The characters, so richly etched in Cunningham's novel, are clumsily translated to the screen, relying more on cliche and overstatement than real definition. Faced with this jarring anomaly, the actors, especially Roberts, do their best to try to stamp their authority on matters but at the end of the movie, you're no closer to really caring for them or their fates.