A Home at the End of the World

There's less here than meets the eye in this sprightly but shallow tale of a defiantly untraditional family, adapted by Michael Cunningham (The Hours) from his own novel. Cleveland, 1974: high school misfits Bobby and Jonathan become best friends and--after the sudden death of the former's father--the orphaned Bobby is effectively adopted by Jonathan's parents. Eight years later, naïve, innocent Bobby--now played by Colin Farrell--moves in with openly gay Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) in New York and promptly falls in love with Clare (Robin Wright Penn), Jonathan's free-spirited roommate. The trio break up, but reunite after a family tragedy and eventually settle down together in Woodstock, where they open a diner, only to have parenthood and illness intervene. As this précis makes clear, Michael Mayer's film is chockfull of dramatic incidents--sickness, death, birth--but it's actually a rather weightless concoction (a fable of the power of unconditional love given a nostalgic air by an Age of Aquarius mindset and a slight edge by a gay twist) that prizes quirkiness over depth. Still, the picture's loose charm makes it easy to like, and the cast is outstanding, with Sissy Spacek joining the three leads in giving winning performances. Recommended, with reservations. [Note: DVD extras include the six-minute “The Journey Home” behind-the-scenes featurette, and a trailer. Bottom line: a disappointingly small extras package for a so-so film.] (F. Swietek)