The Racked Focus Review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

June 24, 2012 saw the premiere of Maxwell Haddad’s review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World on The Racked Focus.  As stated before the review, the movie stars Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Martin Sheen, and a few others.  The director is Lorene Scafaria, who is also the writer.  Max deserves praise for how well he summarized the technical aspects that were just resummarized here and now.

The review begins with a delicious array of questions that let the reader think introspectively about the end of the world.  Maxwell inspires the readers of his review to think about what would happen if attempts to save the world were unsuccessful.  This line of questioning opens up the review to the broader thoughts about one’s self and how we, as people, would deal with a world ending crisis. The questions fall in line with the thematic elements of the movie at hand, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

The style of writing that Maxwell uses throughout the review is a perfect companion to the movie that is being reviewed.  There is a calm sort of concentration to the phrasing and the specific words that are chosen throughout the review.  This is comparable to the calming sensation that many people would be sure to feel in the final few seconds before the world ends.  As Max describes the acting of Steve Carell and his chemistry with Keira Knightley, the words wash over the reader like a bubble bath.  The words soothe.  Max L. Haddad knows what to say in a way that is direct yet still thoughtful.  He brings the right amount of reflection on Carell’s career and gives some wonderful insight into what Seeking a Friend for the End of the World allowed Carell to portray on screen.  The combination of insight and wistfulness throughout the review created some delicious prose.

The single negative aspect of the review is that Max does not counterbalance his praise for the movie with any weaknesses within it.  This may be the writer preferring to be positive, rather than nitpicking the negative aspects of the movie.  However, it would have been interesting to read Maxwell’s opinion on what he thought the movie would have been able to do better.  This isn’t much of a negative to the review, as much of it works on a level far beyond what is good and what is bad about the movie.  This is just something that could have been interesting to read.

Approaching the conclusion of his review, Maxwell goes on to give the title of the film some meaning, as it pertains to the plot of the film.  This is a rather obvious association, but something that is still a necessity to include in the review.  It is brought to focus in an astute manner that gives a clear understanding to the meaning.  This is done both intelligently and concisely.  Max did a great job at making the meaning of the title accessible to anybody who happens upon this review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

The review that Maxwell wrote for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is one that I will be thinking about for days to come.  It brought insight and knowledge to the subject matter while also being a representation of the same thematic elements of the movie within itself.  Whether intentional or unintentional, this is something of note and something that does not come often with reviews.  Though the representation is only associated with a small moment in the overall theme of the film, it brings another layer to the review that makes it that much better.

Maxwell Haddad, you have earned 4 ½ salutes out of 5 salutes for this wonderful review.