Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Dir: Lorene Scafaria
2012
***
As much as I liked Seeking a Friend for the End of the World I cannot give it more than 3 stars, even though I feel like I want to. The big problem is that it was sold as a comedy, which it isn't. There are funny parts but they are very few and far between. As much as I love Steve Carrell, I think the film is slightly mis-cast. Maybe that is unfair of me but then again I think the production company are to blame as they have advertised this as a Steve Carrell comedy which it really isn't, although he is very good here and he is type-cast so far as false advertising is concerned. Poor guy. Keira Knightley is unlikable. Her character, or at least her portrayal of the character, falls very short of what is really needed for anyone to fall in love with in such short and difficult circumstances, in fact she is instantly hateable and continually annoying. I suppose it's hard to enjoy a romantic apocalyptic film due to the fact you know everyone dies at the end. It's very sweet when it comes to that part, beautifully written but just poorly executed. I guess that's the real problem with the film, it's a brilliant story that just hasn't been told very well, it just struggles to live up to it's huge potential.