The Tomorrow Man Parent Guide

“The world, the flesh, and the devil conspire, and things fall apart,” explains Ed (John Lithgow). To hedge against this imagined future composed of conspiracies, martial law, infrastructure collapse, and foreign occupation, Ed has prepared a hidden room in his home filled with food, supplies, and a generator. “This is my security blanket,” he says, “my safety net, my 401k.”

It’s also Ed’s obsession. Divorced, lonely, and driven, Ed spends his time online, researching conspiracies and seeking to understand the reasons behind a world that is changing in ways he doesn’t understand. He hectors his son (Derek Cecil) about his lack of preparation, becoming increasingly contentious. But then one day he meets Ronnie (Blythe Danner) at the grocery store. Ronnie is paying with cash and since Ed distrusts credit cards, he assumes she shares his “prepper” world view.

Ed’s obvious interest in Ronnie is initially met with unease. Ronnie seems almost frail, reeling from the tragic deaths of her husband and daughter and coping in counterproductive ways. But the two scarred souls find companionship and eventually love. Their relationship is where The Tomorrow Man really shines. John Lithgow and Blythe Danner offer stellar performances here, creating people who are quirky, vulnerable, and even sweet despite their obvious disfunction. Their journeys into accepting each other’s brokenness while trying to moderate their own oddities are touching. And director Noble Jones has treated both characters with tenderness and respect that values their humanity without whitewashing their flaws. As a character study, The Tomorrow Man makes for interesting viewing.

Sadly, even outstanding acting and interesting characters aren’t enough to save this production. Good characters and well written dialogue are wasted on an often aimless plot and a very slow moving story. (The movie feels significantly longer than its hour and a half runtime.) But even these flaws pale against the ending. The finale, which manages to be both shocking and ill-advised, completely subverts the message of the rest of the story and is likely to leave viewers shaking their heads in disbelief.

Fortunately, The Tomorrow Man comes without too much baggage in terms of negative content: the film is safe for teens but it is unlikely any of them would be interested in watching it. Potential viewers will want to be aware that there is an implied sexual relationship, some social drinking, and just over a dozen profanities, including, oddly enough for a PG-13 movie, three sexual expletives. Audiences are unlikely to be fazed by the negative content in this movie: it is the story and its senseless conclusion that will annoy them. Sadly, The Tomorrow Man is unlikely to have much of a future.