A Home at the End of the World

While aspiring to express a fresh view of love and friendship, “A Home At the End of the World” is not a place I would necessarily want to visit, let alone live. Encompassing the late 1960’s and early 1970’s ideas of free love and sex, drugs, and rock and roll, this story brings to fruition the effects of young kids who grew up around those lifestyles.

Beginning in Cleveland 1967, Bobby (Andrew Chalmers, Erik Smith, Collin Ferrell) is dramatically impacted by his older brother whom he witnesses having sex, dropping acid, and tragically dying. Highlighting another term of Bobby’s life entails losing his father and moving in with his high school friend Johnny (Harris Allan, Dallas Roberts), with whom he has a kind of erotic relationship. Reuniting years later in New York City’s East Village, a melodrama with Bobby, Johnny and Johnny’s roommate Claire (Robin Wright Penn) ensues until the realities of life bring all of their romance to an end.

Some of the situations depicted in this drama include a shocking death, foul language, LSD use, smoking marijuana, homoerotic relationships, taking the Lord’s name in vain, and premarital sex. There is one explicit sexual scene with nudity, in the beginning. The tragic death scene in the beginning was very impressive, but also made me a little nauseous, because it was it was done so realistic. There was also a disconcerting instance involving Johnny aggressively making out with a man at his apartment. All in all, the subject matter and themes are certainly not for kids.

While this film does take on a melodramatic tone, it does refrain from any inherent pretentiousness. The art direction, dialogue and acting are all quite noteworthy in this piece. And the bigger ideas of love and friendship that novelist and screenwriter Michael Cunningham (“The Hours”) is out to capture are nothing to scoff at either. One of the most uplifting aspects was how Bobby embodies the idea of acceptance and love, but I didn’t always agree with how that was portrayed.

In one scene, Claire compliments Bobby and tells him he could adapt to living anywhere and would be able to do anything. She asks him, “Is there anything you couldn’t do?” After a moment Bobby replies, “I couldn’t be alone.” While Bobby’s choices can be highly objectionable, there is a godly quality about his character in how he cares for people and accepts them for who they are, and how he doesn’t keep his love to himself. While he isn’t a totally exemplary person, there is a quality about him that is worth emulating.

This is a melancholy movie that eventually offers a fair resolution to more radical lifestyles. Things were handled truthfully, including the outcome of these people’s choices, but these things are only alluded to at the end. For all of the work spent on recapturing certain ideas, it might have been more beneficial if they didn’t come across as glazed over.