Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Director:

Lorene Scafaria

Writer:

Lorene Scafaria (screenplay)

Stars:

Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Morris	...	Radio Announcer
Steve Carell	...	Dodge
Nancy Carell	...	Linda
Mark Moses	...	Anchorman
Roger Aaron Brown	...	Alfred
Rob Huebel	...	Jeremy
Trisha Gorman	...	Crying Woman
Keira Knightley	...	Penny
Adam Brody	...	Owen
Tonita Castro	...	Elsa
Leslie Murphy	...	Amy
Connie Britton	...	Diane
Rob Corddry	...	Warren
Kasey Campbell	...	Danny
Melanie Lynskey	...	Karen

Storyline

An asteroid named "Matilda" is on a collision course towards Earth and in three weeks the world will come to an absolute end. What would you do if your life and the world were doomed? One man decides to spend his time searching for his long lost love from high school during the coming catastrophe.

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Plot Keywords:

letter | road trip | suicide | lost love | written by director | 

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Taglines:

The end is coming soon

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Singapore Malaysia Indonesia

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buscando un amigo para el fin del mundo

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,822,803 (USA) (22 June 2012)

Gross:

$6,619,173 (USA) (29 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Mandate Pictures, Indian Paintbrush

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penny, while escaping the apartment with a stack of record albums, the visible records change, at times you can see Lou Reed's "Coney Island Baby", John Cale's "Vintage Violence" and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass' "The Beat of The Brass."

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Goofs

Dodge pulls out the vinyl album "Scott", Scott Walker's first solo album. He takes record out of sleeve puts it on turntable but "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" plays. This was by The Walker Brothers and was not on the album in question. Additionally, the following song that plays "Stay With Me Baby" does not appear on the album "Scott." Nor does it appear on the album "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." The two tracks only appear together on later released compilation albums.

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Quotes

Penny: I don't want to fall asleep. Okay? Don't let me fall asleep. Promise.
Dodge: I promise. What about your parents?
Penny: They're romantics. They understand. Besides, they've got each other. I just want to be with you.
Dodge: And I want to be with you.
Penny: I couldn't live without you. No matter how long. What do we do now?
Dodge: I just want to lay here with you. Just want to talk to you.
Penny: Okay. What are we gonna talk about?
Dodge: Where'd you grow up?
Penny: Well, I was born in Surrey. My whole family are from there. My mum was a journalist ...
[...]

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Connections

References Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Pastel Lights"
Written by John Mudd and Brad Dale
Performed by Ishi
Courtesy of VU Music

User Reviews

Seeking a Film for the End of the Week?

We've seen dramatic and extreme post-apocalyptic thrillers almost as many times as we've survived the Rapture, and it is hard to imagine that anyone can interpret the theme in a way that would make a movie more enjoyable. However, none of the previous films starred Steve Carrell or stayed completely in the pre-apocalyptic world. As it turns out, these two facts make a huge difference.

Dodge (Carrell) learns that nothing can be done to prevent the imminent destruction of the world while in the car with his wife, Linda (Nancy Carrell, formerly Nancy Walls and hilarious without saying a word). Linda then literally runs away, and so begins the story of Dodge's terrible misfortune. He is a modern-day adult version of Charlie Brown – likable, but not extraordinary in any sense except for his ability to attract sadness. Seeking then shows how everyone else is coping with the news, and Dodge doesn't seem very interested in surfing, sex, or suicide, so he just meanders through the madness sipping his cough syrup. He probably would have done that for the entire three weeks left of his life were it not for a his neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley), a flighty girl trying to get a flight back to her family in England. The two escape a riot (and Penny's loser boyfriend, perfectly played by Adam Brody) and set out on an adventure so that Dodge can say goodbye to his high school sweetheart and Penny can get to England by way of Dodge's friend who owns a plane.

The commercials portray this film as more of a comedy, and it is delightfully funny in some spots, but this film is far more emotionally and intellectually stimulating than it is amusing. I remember thinking at the end of 2005's War of the Worlds, "I wish they had spent more time focusing on humanity." The human experience of facing the end of life is so complex and so unique to every individual, and Director Loren Scafaria succeeds in showing the despair, decadence, and delusions that people would definitely be wrapped up in were this to occur in real life.

Carrell is brilliant as usual with his effortless self-effacing humor. He seems to have worked on his deadpan skills as his funniest moments include reacting to crazy events with a blank stare or monotone comment. Knightley manages to be an effervescent and bubbly realist without being annoying, which makes Penny a completely plausible running buddy for Dodge, who can't take much more agitation. These two stars have a chemistry that allows Dodge to come out of his shell and live the last days of his life the way he wished he had lived all along. A few people live in less inspiring ways to awesome comedic effect. Elsa, Dodge's housekeeper, still diligently comes to clean his house and even instructs him to get more "Windows" while shaking a nearly empty bottle of glass cleaner. Warren (fellow Daily Show alum Rob Corddry) celebrates the end of responsibility by boozing it up and sharing his drinks freely, even with little kids. These scenes, however, are merely distractions from how Dodge and Penny learn more than they ever imagined about life and the world simply because it is all coming to an end. Despite the hokey-ness, I must admit that I got teary-eyed as the characters realized what matters most.

Focus Features does a great job of producing equally thought-provoking and heartstring-pulling films and Seeking is no exception. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and with any luck, you'll leave the theater thankful that you most likely have more than three weeks to make the most of your life.