Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

A Home at the End of the World

Play trailer Poster for A Home at the End of the World R Released Jul 23, 2004 1h 33m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 117 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Bobby (Colin Farrell), a rough teenager, lives in Cleveland in a family burdened by tragedy. After he meets Jonathan (Dallas Roberts), a gay teen repressed by his mother (Sissy Spacek), the two boys become best friends. When Bobby later reunites with Jonathan in New York as a young man, Bobby finds him living with a laid-back woman named Clare (Robin Wright Penn), and the three friends plan to form their own family -- until Bobby and Clare's budding romance gets in the way.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

A Home at the End of the World

A Home at the End of the World

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A Home at the End of the World aims for profundity, but settles for stale melodrama, yielding a slew of sensitive performances that are nevertheless in service of characters who prove to be ciphers.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (117) Critics Reviews
David Ansen Newsweek Guided by Michael Cunningham's witty screenplay--he also wrote the hypnotizing novel of the same name--the actors celebrate a new notion of family. Mar 13, 2018 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Great acting, but soap opera-ish. Not for kids. Rated: 3/5 Dec 21, 2010 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 2/5 Apr 1, 2006 Full Review Felicia Feaster Creative Loafing [A]t times superficial, but nevertheless affecting. Jan 29, 2020 Full Review Betsy Bozdech DVDJournal.com The limitations of time and celluloid make it impossible for the quiet, character-driven story to be as subtle and nuanced on screen as it is on the page. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 22, 2006 Full Review Dragan Antulov Draxblog Movie Reviews shorter than THE HOURS and this is the main reason why Michael Cunnigham should be pleased with this adaptation of his work Rated: 3/10 Sep 28, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (676) audience reviews
Jeff M There are a very small handful of films in which I not only love the characters but oddly enough feel like I have fallen in love with them. BROADCAST NEWS comes immediately to mind - I watched it incessantly as a teenager and truly fell in love with all three main characters. I feel the same way about the people that inhabit this film - one of the most underrated and neglected films of the 2000s. This is another successful cinematic adaptation of a Michael Cunningham novel after THE HOURS, which is on my list of all-time great movies. This is a simpler story that doesn't have the gravitas of that masterwork, but it still works beautifully. I loved how hard these characters were trying to build relationships based on their true feelings and not on society's convention. I was rooting for them, I cared about them and I wanted them to be happy. Farrell is transcendent here, in a performance unlike any he has ever given. He would be on my personal ballot for Best Actor of 2004. I also love Sissy Spacek as Jonathan's mother and Bobby's surrogate mother - it's a character richer and more complex than one expects. The conflicts and struggles here feel real because the characters are trying to be as true to themselves as possible. Their desires are fueled by different criteria, but they ultimately share the same simple wish not to be alone in the world. The chemistry between the three leads is out of this world, and the slightly ambiguous ending is heartrending. These are characters you aren't likely to forget anytime soon. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/24 Full Review Audience Member Firth, Wright, Roberts and Spacek are solid storytellers in this bizarre love triangle/free spirited film. It's a dark drama of failed expectations in relationships and ultimately things not working out the way you would plan. Wright eventually flees and you might suspect Roberts will pass from AIDS. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Rather dull I'm afraid....guess that was the 70s man Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A simple and poignant film about muddling through life and the desperation to belong somewhere. The characters are interesting and commendably established, not too much and not too less, just enough to know their minds and emotions. The movie has quite a few unique and memorable scenes, from the initial elder-brother-having-sex scene, to mom smoking up, and mutual masturbation. Colin Farrell really surprised me with his nuanced portrayal of a sensitive and innocent guy trying to find a firm grip on life, who time and again loses people closest to him. And talented actors like Sissy Spacek and Robin Wright were welcomed additions, who play intriguing characters, different from what they've played before. Debutant Dallas Roberts was good as well. One would expect more conflict when three characters are trying to establish a family together, but the calm and composed outlook was refreshing. The story moves from one moment to the other, and then just tries to deal with it, just like life; doesn't lead to, or even promise, a strong or compelling ending. It takes us in and then throws us out, leaving us there to contemplate...just like Bobby (Colin); we see and feel everything through his eyes. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member A bittersweet story of a very intimate and intricate family unit of two unlikely best friends and a woman whose affection for them they cannot reciprocate. Beautifully written and delicately performed, it is yet another quietly powerful story from Michael Cunningham who also wrote THE HOURS. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member There are so many things wrong with this film. It’s not about the people in the deep, just in the surface. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/13/18 Full Review Read all reviews
A Home at the End of the World

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Summer Storm 50% 78% Summer Storm Watchlist Holiday Heart 67% 92% Holiday Heart Watchlist My Summer of Love 90% 69% My Summer of Love Watchlist Kill Your Darlings 77% 60% Kill Your Darlings Watchlist Quinceañera 86% 72% Quinceañera Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Bobby (Colin Farrell), a rough teenager, lives in Cleveland in a family burdened by tragedy. After he meets Jonathan (Dallas Roberts), a gay teen repressed by his mother (Sissy Spacek), the two boys become best friends. When Bobby later reunites with Jonathan in New York as a young man, Bobby finds him living with a laid-back woman named Clare (Robin Wright Penn), and the three friends plan to form their own family -- until Bobby and Clare's budding romance gets in the way.
Director
Michael Mayers
Producer
Hunt Lowry, Christine Vachon, John Hart
Screenwriter
Michael Cunningham, Keith Bunin
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Plymouth Projects, Killer Films, Hart-Sharp Entertainment, John Wells Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 23, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 24, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.0M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now