Seeking a Friend for the End of the World review

Penny: You're a really nice person. 
Dodge: You are an awful judge of character. 

Director: Lorene Scafaria 
(2012)

What would you do if you were told that everything in existence would end in 3 weeks? Some would do all the things that they wish they could before society collapsed, while others, I suspect, would go on living exactly the way they normally would. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poses this question to its leads, the melancholic Dodge (Steve Carell) and quirky Penny (Kiera Knightly) as they set out fulfil their final desires before the human race is destroyed by a meteor. What's more important is that SAFFTEOTW is a terrific RomCom, as funny as it is emotionally resonant.

As a radio announcer informs of earths demise in 3 weeks, Dodge sits gloomily in his car as his long-time wife Linda opens the door and runs off. It’s a funny scene, but also a sad one, leaving Dodge to sit out the Armageddon on his own. As society becomes liberated from the shackles of decency and responsibility, he encounters his rarely seen neighbour Penny, for the first time. They're both alone, so decide to go on a road trip, searching for those they love before it’s too late. Dodge wants to find his high school sweetheart while Penny is searching for a plane to get back to England to see her family. The biggest initial surprise here is that Knightly puts in a good performance. It’s not up to that of 2007’s Atonement, but it’s a damn sight better than the majority of her filmography. She’s charming, funny and while her performance becomes borderline hysterical a little too often, likeable. She is overshadowed by Carell though, who delivers another great performance, akin to last year’s superb Crazy, Stupid, Love. Playing an almost serious character in a comedy is becoming his forte, and long may it continue. He’s an empty man, purposeless without his unhappy wife, aptly demonstrated by his attendance of his dull insurance job for an entire week.

The pair sees some odd sights on their journey, from orgies in restaurants to others who prepare for the end of the world by hiding away in bunkers and bomb shelters. This is easily the finest aspect of Seeking, how people are portrayed when facing the end of existence. Some riot, fight and steal. Like Dodge and Penny, some take the remaining planes and busses to find their loved ones. But the most interesting is those who continue doing their routine, almost as if they're unable to process the near insanity of the predicament that they find themselves in. Some of these are funny, Dodges boss offers the remaining employees in the office a promotion to CFO, the money is better, but you’ll be dead before you get your pay check. One man has stuck in my mind since I viewed the film; seemingly content with cutting his front lawn. It’s a split second of footage, but it captures the tone of the film excellently; a perfect marriage of odd, funny and endearingly sad.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World has a good ending, though it’s almost spoiled by being needlessly rushed. An ending can make or break a film, and while this is a successful conclusion to a bittersweet story, it’s ripe with underdeveloped potential. The road trip film of the year, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a fine example of how RomComs should be done.

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