Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Review

Director: Lorene Scafaria

Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody, Melanie Lynskey

Running time: 101 minutes

Certificate: 15

Synopsis: With an asteroid set to destroy the earth in 21 days, Dodge Peterson (Carell)’s wife has fled in a state of panic.  Lonely and unmotivated, a chance encounter one night with his free spirited neighbour Penny (Knightley) sets Dodge on a journey to find his childhood sweetheart…

The world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper (unless the world in question is part of a Roland Emmerich film, in which case it ends with plenty of bangs, but little whimpering). SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD is not chock full of big bangs or explosive special effects. Nor is it just an hour and forty minutes of society going to hell. Instead, Lorene Scafaria’s film is a sweet and poignant movie that prefers to explore how, even in times of great fear and uncertainty, something beautiful can still grow and blossom.  In this particular case, it’s a friendship, as the titles suggests.

The friendship in this case is between Carell’s lonely and emotionally cut-off Dodge and Knightley’s free spirited, vinyl-obsessed Penny. And what a wonderful friendship it is. Maybe it’s the excellent script or the beautifully underplayed performances from the two leads, but both characters are instantly loveable from the get go. The chemistry between the two actors is clear as clean water, and even when in a scene without the other, both actors deliver the goods. Knightly especially delivers, getting some sparkling comedic moments as well as some brilliant emotional ones as well, proving that when given a good script, the sky’s the limit for her.

What’s also particularly impressive here is that Scafaria (making her directorial debut here, after previously penning the screenplays for films such as NICK & NORA’S INFINITE PLAYLIST) avoids one of the major pitfalls of other apocalyptic movies by refusing to show a society just simply self-destructing. Many lesser filmmakers would choose to merely focus on people rioting and fighting in the aftermath of learning that life will soon be over. Whilst Scafaria doesn’t shy away from highlighting this aspect, she wisely chooses to not let it rule the narrative, instead focusing on more diverse ideas, and in the process keeping the riots contained to a small set piece, resulting in a much better paced, multi-layered film. Seeing Dodge and Penny discover a roadside diner where everyone is content and happy to just enjoy food, music, and literally each other until they die, or a beach party where families and friends gather for one last fun, relaxing get-together is much more interesting and enjoyable to watch then constant traipsing through firebombed streets of looters. As a result, what we get here is a much a warmer, more feel-good apocalyptic film then we’ve ever seen before.

It’s not entirely perfect. Pretty much all of the supporting characters are featured briefly and then never seen or heard from again, whilst the final scene, despite being beautifully played, feels a little bit too convenient.  However, these are just minor niggles. With two excellent lead actors on the top of their game, a very amusing & moving script, and a well-selected soundtrack to boot, SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD is an enjoyable alternative to the crash-bang-wallop apocalypse films of recent years.

  SEEKING A FRIEND is out now in UK Cinemas nationwide.