A film with a great elevator pitch – suburban 80s street gets transported back to the Jurassic period – The End of Oak Street capitalises on its Jurassic threats to offer plenty of genre thrills and a throwback to great family movies. Whilst it doesn’t reach the heights of the influences it wears on its sleeve, it is still a great piece of summer popcorn fun.
In 1980s’ suburban America, we meet the Platt family who live on the idyllic-looking Oak Street. Mum, Denise (Anne Hathaway) is a secretly aspiring novelist, Dad, Greg (Ewan McGregor), frequently leaves the family to take up shifts at his side job as a pizza delivery driver. Their marriage is on the rocks, with both frequently alluding to the conversation which will call time on their relationship. Their daughter, Audrey (Maisy Stella) is obsessed with Carl Sagan and dreams of attending Cornell, while their son, Brian (Christian Convery), cycles around with his friends, attempting to avoid the local bully. So far, so typical. Soon, they notice odd happenings in their neighbourhood; it becomes unbearably hot, a plant species known to be extinct 200 million years ago mysteriously grows in on neighbour’s garden, while another wakes up to find a gigantic pile of faces in his back yard. Not long after, during a storm one night featuring a cosmic flash of light and deafening sound, the neighbourhood is suddenly ripped from its 80s surroundings and transplanted back into the Jurassic period. With dinosaurs roaming free, limited supplies and no way to leave the street, the family must fight to survive.
The intriguingly wacky premise sets the stage for a fun rollercoaster ride of the film. Clearly heavily influenced by Amblin, David Robert Mitchell offers a throwback fun family film, although this being the director who broke through in the horror genre, the limits of a 12 rating are stretched as far as they can go in a way that refuses to play it safe (eeking out as much goriness as allowed to ramp up the jeopardy and utilising the one cursory f-bomb to great comedic effect). Before the dinosaurs appear, the film takes its time with the table setting in a way that feels refreshing, allowing a genuine build up to the craziness that can sometimes feel lacking in modern cinema. Once all havoc breaks loose, Mitchell knows how to dial up the tension and the film’s pacing keeps you on the left food, undulating between moments of high jeopardy and quieter, more existential crises. Whilst the film enters a kind of rhythm, it doesn’t sacrifice suspense but it does mean it doesn’t delve too deep.
Mitchell leans fully into the film’s 80s setting (at least of the street, if not of the surroundings), using all of the filmmaking tools in his arsenal to make it feel as though you have just discovered a long-lost feature from that decade. The End of Oak Street has the look of film and the beautiful colour saturation that comes with it, and the cinematography – in framing and camera movement – echoes the films of the time, even including multiple unsettling split diopter shots used to disorientate the audience in line with the characters. The production design and costumes bring the space to life, whilst the editing allows sequences to breathe and build without excessive cutting. The film owes a clear debt to Spielberg, even including many of his hallmarks (kids on bikes etc.), but all of this is done with such heart that the film doesn’t feel too derivative, and the freshness of a modern eye ensures it doesn’t feel dated in the wrong way.
The cast are great across the board, with Hathaway giving real strength to her character (thankfully the helpless woman is not an old trope that makes it into the cut) and Stella and Convery are excellent as the kids, blending vulnerability with conviction in a way that makes the teenagers feel real. McGregor does well with what he has been feels underutilised in a character that is given fewer individual moments to help flesh him out, leaving him to feel less realised. The entire family keep you engaged and invested, with the few supporting players emphasising the claustrophobia of the situation.
Whilst the tension and jeopardy are certainly there during some well-executed sequences, it sometimes isn’t ramped up quite as much as it needs to be to have the full effect. While the stakes are clear (a dinosaur might eat you), the emotional consequences don’t always strike as strongly as they should so even after a particularly pivotal scene, the impact isn’t what it should be. The film remains fun and engaging but it feels slightly more removed than it wants to be.
This is the kind of film to just throw yourself into (the logic behind the neighbourhood time jump is never explained and doesn’t need to be) and just let yourself go along for the ride. A lot of fun, unpredictable and with some great set pieces, this is a good time at the movies.
