Seeking a Friend for the End of the World DVD Review


Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Everyone has there own favourite actors and also actors that they don’t like or even hate to watch! I enjoy Steve Carell’s brand of humorous acting but if I have to be honest with you I’ve never been that excited by watching Keira Knightley. Hey don’t get my wrong I’d rather watch her in ten films back to back than be forced to sit through a Jennifer Anniston movie but regardless, Knightley has never been top of my list for female film stars. This film and her performance in it has given me a new outlook on her.

When a 70-mile-wide asteroid heads towards Earth and the last best attempt to counter it has failed we find our screens filled with the rather odd coupling of Carell and Knightley.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)Dodge (Steve Carell) is a mild mannered, likable insurance salesman (love the job considering the plot) who would never harm anyone or treat anyone unkindly, he’s a nice man. When the news breaks that the World will end in three weeks his wife just gets out of the car and leaves him, no explanation, no goodbyes.

Penny (Keira Knightley) is everything that Dodge is not – she’s an extroverted, emotional, cannabis-smoking whirlwind of a woman who lives life to the full. Unfortunately she’s never found true love.

They have their own little meet-cute and end up becoming friends when Penny gives Dodge some mail that she should possibly have given him several months ago – a letter from a lost love. Now wifeless and with the end approaching Dodge decides to track down his lost love, Olivia, and Penny – being Penny and having nothing better to do (apart from having a car) – comes along for the ride after leaving her on-off boyfriend after he used her as a human shield in the middle of a riot.

The possibly overly-long titled Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World is the directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) and it deftly looks at the most important things in life: love, family, fidelity, hope, honesty and companionship to the backdrop of a world falling apart.

This is a rather unexpectedly wonderful film that will make you laugh and cry and whilst there may be a typically sad ending, it’s not necessarily as downbeat as you might imagine, in fact it’s uplifting. Completely recommended viewing.

Author : Kevin Stanley