Marg: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

I've been writing this review in my head since Friday night, I began writing it in fact before I was finished watching the movie in question. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is the directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist) and simply put, it is a lovely little film about the unavoidable apocalypse.

The premise is simple: in three weeks, an asteroid belt nicknamed Matilda is going to collide with Earth, demolishing it and causing the end of all life. No, there is no hope. Yes, they tried sending a crew into space (off-screen) - no, it didn't work. Dodge Peterson (Steve Carell) is just a regular man facing this end like the rest of humanity. There is no call for heroics, and there is nothing specifically to be done except to wait for the inevitable.

Exactly what people would do in this situation is explored with great believability by Scafaia. Dodge's wife literally runs away in the opening scene, knowing that he is not the man she wants to die with. Co-workers of his panic, some try to continue on with brave tear-stained faces, others take matters into their own hands. Dodge's friends host an End of the World Party - an event to do whatever you want to do that you've never done before. It is a world where your actions are without consequence - whether those actions be allowing your small child to chug booze or wearing everything you've never worn, or sleeping with strangers having no worries about STDs or pregnancy, or doing heroin. Anything goes, and nothing matters.

Dodge doesn't fit into this new world. He's a quiet man, a guy who depended on having a safety net, he wishes the end of the world was not on its way, but his life-long regrets would have surfaced eventually anyway. He meets a young woman in his building who has built a life ignoring safety nets, the flighty and charismatic Penny (Keira Knightly). After an encroaching series of violent riots reach their homes, Dodge and Penny escape together, along with a dog "Sorry" who was abandoned into Dodge's care. Dodge says he knew a man with a plane, and Penny hopes to fly home to England to be with her family. In many ways, Seeking a Friend becomes a bit of a road trip movie at this point, as the pair drive off together in various vehicles meeting all sorts of people.

Steve Carell is another in a not-that-long list of comedians who just shine in dramatic roles - Seeking a Friend is devilishly hilarious in parts, it is the dramatic scenes where you see Dodge's beautifully detailed characterization. It's a subtle performance more Little Miss Sunshine than Anchorman that's for sure, and cements Carell's decision to leave his long-in-the-tooth sitcom role behind as by far the best option. Speaking of the Office, even as Michael Scott a character miles away personality-wise to Dodge, Carell had the rare ability to infuse his absurdity with a tinge of deep, unnerving sadness. It is a skill that suited him well here. 

I am worried that some critics will colour Keira Knightly's Penny as a "manic pixie dream girl". I hate the over use of this term, and find that it is used to diminish and downplay some excellent performances by actresses. Unlike the MPDG trope (which does not, in my opinion, fit many of the characters it is applied to), Penny does not exist as a character simply to improve the life of the male character. MPDGs are often accused of being a collection of quirky traits - Penny is obsessive about her vinyl collection which is easily dismissible by those hellbent on dismissing, but when she describes *why* vinyl you believe her, and you get it, and you want to go out and buy records. It is not just some quirky trait picked out of a hat. Penny is a complex person in her own right - yes, in many ways she does provide the Dodge character with the energy and adventure that he so desperately needs - but he earns that and gives back to her a selflessness and security that she especially needs in the time of catastrophe. Plus, Knightly is just delightful in this film. She's engaging and bright and she made me absolutely sob in the scene where she is finally able to call her family on a satellite phone after all other modes of communication are shut down. 

When I first saw the trailer for Seeking a Friend, I worried how the pairing of Carell and Knightly might work. There is a 23 year age difference between them - which isn't uncommon in Hollywood films, but is far more noticeable and uncomfortable than producers want to admit. In Seeking a Friend however, even though their age difference is pointed out specifically (as is the difference in their attractiveness levels), it all makes sense for their situation. It reminded me a bit of the pairing of Scarlett Johannson and Bill Murray in Lost in Translation - they made perfect sense for the isolation and bizarreness of their circumstances.

I did take some issue with the ending of Seeking a Friend. I won't go into too many details, but I will say that Dodge's initial sacrifice was so touching, that I would have been satisfied with that ending. The final cut seemed like perhaps it was a re-write, but I'm not sure. Either way, the ending was as sweet as the end of the World could be, I suppose.

There is a scene early on in the film where Dodge asks his friend (who is trying to set him up with her friend, so that he doesn't die alone) what the point is in trying to get to know somebody in the little time there is left. Ultimately what the message of the film is, I think, is that there is always someone worth getting to know, even if just for a short time. Getting to know other human beings is what being a human being is all about.

With it's excellent soundtrack, wonderful leads, and stand-out supporting roles by the likes of Gillian Jacobs, Connie Britton, Tonito Casto, Rob Cordy, Adam Brodie (who I did not recognize!), T.J. Miller, Patton Oswalt, and Martin Sheen, as well as a very clever script and impressive direction, I recommend Seeking a Friend for the End of the World very enthusiastically.

-Marg

@acuteinsomnia