What happens when an ordinary suburban neighbourhood is suddenly transported back in time to the age of dinosaurs? The End of Oak Street brings a unique twist to the dinosaur movie genre, throwing a normal neighbourhood into an unfamiliar prehistoric world where its residents are suddenly at the mercy of nature and the creatures that come with it.
Directed by David Robert Mitchell, the film follows Greg and Denise, an unhappy couple who live on Oak Street with their two kids, Audrey and Brian. Played by Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway, Greg and Denise are the typical picture of a suburban family.
Set in 1982, Greg has lost his job and is secretly working as a pizza delivery driver, something which his wife, Denise, clearly frowns upon. Meanwhile, Denise is secretly writing a novel about a woman planning to abandon her family, seemingly reflecting her own plans for her marriage. Their son Brian is acting out at school, while their daughter Audrey is focused on her future, college and her interest in astronomy.
As chaos ensues on Oak Street, we see the family break down, bringing hidden resentment and frustrations to the surface. It is these details which make the film more interesting than simply being another dinosaur movie. Before the disorder breaks out in their neighbourhood, there is already conflict within this family, making it interesting to see how they would navigate the chaos that follows.
The idea of wormholes causing an entire neighbourhood to be transported back in time, forcing its residents to fight dinosaurs to survive, is certainly an interesting one. The film had a unique premise and plenty of potential, but I just wish it was developed more.
The film never fully explains how the event happened in the first place or what could have caused it. With such an intriguing and ambitious concept, I wanted the film to give us a little more. Instead, there were several moments in which I questioned what was going on and the direction the film was heading.
The ending also felt a little too easy. After everything the characters had been through, it just seemed too easy that they were able to save their neighbours and prevent some of the disaster by returning 20 minutes before the neighbourhood is transported back in time.
I also felt as if the film needed to commit to a certain direction. It definitely had a comedic element, but there was also a gory side that I wished they had developed further. There are moments when I wished they would completely lean into the absurdity of the situation and have more fun with it.
Films can absolutely leave audiences with questions, but I felt like some of the questions The End of Oak Street left behind came from the film not fully exploring its own ideas and leaving too much up to interpretation.
Despite this, The End of Oak Street was definitely an entertaining watch. Its unusual premise definitely left an impression and opens up the possibility for more creative and interesting concepts within the dinosaur genre to be explored in the future.
3/5
Image Credits – Warner Bros.
