A Home at the End of the World **** (2004, Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Robin Wright, Sissy Spacek) – Classic Movie Review 431

Directed by Michael Mayer in 2004, this is another exquisite, heart-breaking work from the author of The Hours. Sadly, it didn’t achieve anything like its respect or its popularity, despite its release by a major film studio, Warner Bros.

Colin Farrell bravely goes where you’d never expect him to go, as a lost and confused young American man with a desperate longing to be loved after his family dies when he’s young in suburban Cleveland in the 60s.

In the early Eighties, Farrell’s yearning character Bobby Morrow follows his boyhood buddy Jonathan Glover (Dallas Roberts) to New York City.  The two best friends couldn’t be more different. But in New York Bobby sets up home with Jonathan and starts a relationship with an older woman, Roberts’ kookie flatmate Clare (Robin Wright Penn). These two people, plus Roberts’ mum Alice (Sissy Spacek), become Farrell’s new family.

Beautifully written with tender loving care  from his own 1990 novel by Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Hours (2002), this complex, tender and unconventional heart-wrencher is an even more distinguished, provocative movie. It has an ending so emotionally impactful that it will have audiences weeping buckets.

On their best form, the actors relish every line, nuance and emotional highlight. An excellent Farrell gives it his all. He is out-acted by an outstanding Roberts, but not by too much, though they do look a shade uncomfortable at a big moment as they kiss.

In a fair world there would have been awards and honours and big box-office. But, costing $6.5million, it took only $1million at the US box-office.

Later Farrell insisted the flop box-office film would have been a hit if the nude scene he’d filmed for it had not been cut by the director, who considered it was too distracting. ‘Women would pay to see a man get his kit off,’ he said. Happily, the scene is restored on the DVD.

It is rated R for strong drug content, sexuality, nudity, strong language and a disturbing accident.

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© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review  431

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