Keira Knightley, Steve Carell, and the cutest puppy at the end of the world. (Darren Michaels/Focus Features)

Long before the Mayans’ as yet unsubstantiated forecast was upon us, movies have provided visions of the end of the world. Riots in the street, 11th-hour conversion tales, universal despair, these are all valid cinematic responses to Armageddon. But few have answered this pressing question: what record would you play? Lorene Scafaria’s directorial debut, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, creates a romantic apocalypse where humanity decides what gives life meaning and concludes that it’s snuggles. The need for human connection is a powerful one whether or not the Mayans are right, and a great part of that connection is conveyed through music. How you feel about this movie may depend on whether you believe that Keira Knightley has a thing for John Cale.

A similar record geek sensibility ran through Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Scafaria’s charming screenwriting debut. In that movie, Big Star fans may have wondered if Michael Cera would really listen to Chris Bell’s solo album, but part of the way Scafaria’s work connects with the discerning viewer/listener is through musical choices which are both forced and resonant.

Insurance salesman Dodge (Steve Carrell) find himself alone in the world as an asteroid is forecast to strike and destroy the earth in 21 days. When Dodge first sees his neighbor Penny (Knightley), she’s walking out on her boyfriend with a stack of vinyl for end times entertainment, and the various album covers we see suggest a mix tape: Lou Reed’s Coney Island Baby, Cale’s Vintage Violence and a Herb Alpert album? If one of these things is not like the other, there’s a sentimental reason for it, and if the music selections seem forced, well it is a movie.

From left: Keira Knightley, Gillian Jacobs, T.J. Miller, and Steve Carell (Darren Michaels/Focus Features)

More distracting is that the movie’s early scenes are supposed to take place somewhere in New York’s East Village (Nick and Norah made excellent use of actual Lower East Side locations). Seeking a Friend was shot in various locations in California, which bears little actual resemblance to the I-95 corridor that our protagonists travel.

The fictional interstate is also home to the fictional chain diner Friendsy’s, a cross between Friendly’s and Friday’s that hosts a kind of commercial bacchanal for the apocalypse. The scene doesn’t completely work, and neither does the movie. The opening reels play like a dry comedy that isn’t particularly funny. As the asteroid pushes closer to Earth, the movie works better as its tone becomes more somber. Dodge and Penny grow closer as surely as that rock hurtles towards Earth. Is the asteroid a metaphor for how relationships bring about monumental change? Hedonism is the prevailing trend around them, but in their last days they summon an easy selflessness and each tries to help the other reach their respective end-of-the-world destination. Will they find what they need to ride out the rest of their lives? You probably know the answer.

Dodge and Penny are meant to be an odd couple, and although Carell and Knightley effectively convey a sense of falling in love, they don’t completely gel. The pair never really feels like a unit, but then again, they are only just getting to know each other. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World doesn’t reach the fever pitch of doomsday movies like Steve DeJarnatt’s Miracle Mile, which is what the trailer reminded me of. But despite the sensational concept, its title announces that its target, however universal, is on a more personal scale.

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria.
With Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Rob Corddry and Patton Oswalt.
Rated R for language including sexual references, some drug use, brief violence and all that apocalyptic business.
Opens today at Landmark Bethesda Row.