By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by David Robert Mitchell
• Starring Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
• PG-13

Oak Street is on the verge of destruction. Or at least, the Platt family home is, who is currently in the midst of a parental squabble that is about to boil over into resentment that’s affecting everyone else around them. It only takes about 15 minutes in movie time however for that destruction to become literal as Oak Street, and it’s surrounding neighborhood is engulfed back to the ancient past where there is seemingly no escape.

A nostalgic throwback that also has seeming disdain for nostalgic throwbacks, The End of Oak Street is a suitably weird but always entertaining romp that finds it’s director in full command of his craft. And that might itself be enough, as David Robert Mitchell – long stuck in director’s jail for the wildly misunderstood Under the Silver Lake – has his eyes set on a more audience pleasing but no less idiosyncratic blockbuster that’s also, miraculous, the first truly good dinosaur movie in nearly twenty years.

With their feathered outlines and more animalistic behavior as well, these aren’t the dinosaurs from Jurassic World, who act more like slasher villains waiting to toy with their prey. For better or worse, these are dinosaurs who are simply animals looking to survive just like our protagonists, who are thrust into a situation beyond their control and simply just need to find a way to get through it. It’s a novel premise, and there is a sheer delight that Mitchell takes in placing them in new situations and just letting the film almost write itself. Mitchell’s background in horror, particularly the slow burn thrills of It Follows, work wonders here as there is always something in the background, and half of the fun and terror is just knowing that there is a silent killer on it’s way.

Mitchell always has more on his mind though, and while The End of Oak Street is nowhere near his most intelligent – it’s occasionally mindless on purpose – where it manages to surprise is in the naturalistic way that it’s characters move and interact with each other. While some would argue that The End of Oak Street is simply aping Spielberg, where it manages to meet those accusations is in how character speak and talk like everyday people. The familial dynamics are at the heart of The End of Oak Street, with the family of four (plus good boy Starbuck) all having their struggles amplified by their new circumstances. Greg feels ashamed of his current career after getting laid off, Denise is an aspiring novelist who feels trapped, Audrey dreams of going to the stars, and Brian, arguably the only home who feels at home, wants to stay inside out of fear of a bully he angered a couple of days ago. Their trappings become more obviously literalized here, but you get the picture.

And it’s when The End of Oak Street really leans into that stuff that it shines. It’s not afraid to subvert and play with genre convention either, with an unexpected subtle love story playing between two different characters then what you would expect, as well as a second act ender that feels like a genuine jaw on the floor “holy crap did they actually do that” type of moment we don’t get too often. It pushes the PG-13 rating to it’s limit in these particular moments as well, feeling like the true usage of it in quite some time as many of these moments will likely send younger audiences into screaming fits of terror if their parents bring them to the “new dinosaur movie”.

If Oak Street does stumble at points it’s once you get to it’s conclusion, which is neatly wrapped up in a nice bow with some fun diabolical implications – it feels very Twilight Zone esqe in that way – but also rushes over some of the more interesting, meaty stuff in it’s thematics to get there. There is a feeling that some stuff is missing here, particularly in regards to a couple of subplots that feel dropped last minute in order to get to the finale. But thankfully it gives the movie a lean and mean quality that makes it not overstay it’s welcome, and by the last little bit you have had more then enough of your dinosaur fill.

As summer surprises go, The End of Oak Street is easily one of the summer’s most entertaining and dynamic pictures, even if it’s not as immediately thematic bold as an Odyssey or as gloriously entertaining as an Obsession. It manages to instead deliver thrills the old fashioned way; through careful direction and strong performances from it’s dedicated, talented cast (particularly a game Anne Hathaway). And if it leads to a resurgence in dinosaur flicks that are halfway worth a damn, then The End of Oak Street might actually be worth it.