I went into The End Of Oak Street with the wrong impression. I was browsing the Morality Scaling thread on Reddit and saw that someone had started a thread regarding the morality of Anne Hathaway’s character. I didn’t read the thread to avoid spoilers, but came away thinking, ‘Wow, she must do something really questionable to end up on Morality Scaling.’ She doesn’t.

I think the main problem with The End Of Oak Street is that it has nothing to say. It takes full advantage of its Twilight Zone premise and has some good character drama scattered throughout, but there’s no theme to unify it all.

Parents Greg and Denise (Hathaway, Ewan McGregor) are struggling to keep their marriage together, and their teenage children (Christian Convery and Maisy Stella) can tell. All their differences go out the window when their entire neighbourhood is transported to a prehistoric land and the local wildlife starts to intrude.

The Characters

Anne Hathaway’s Denise is by far the most interesting member of the cast. Greg is sympathetic, as are the children, but Denise’s quandary overshadows them all.

She feels trapped by her familial duties. She desires freedom. Denise can only realise her fantasy by drafting a novel about a suburban housewife aching for the same thing, which she actively keeps out of Greg’s sight.

Having glanced at the Reddit thread, I was expecting, or rather hoping, that Denise would do something radical to make her dream a reality.

Now the fact that she doesn’t isn’t the film’s fault. Like I said, I went in with the wrong impression. However, what is the film’s fault is the painfully cliché arc for Denise and the rest of the cast.

Oak Street is yet another disaster-brings-people-together affair. In the face of mortal danger, the quartet put aside their petty dramas, work together to survive and develop a greater appreciation for each other.

How is this arc relevant to the dinosaurs?

Why is it dinosaurs and not zombies or aliens?

Why is it set in the 1980s?

What’s the point of the coming-of-age Spielbergian subplot?

The film’s failure to answer any of these questions makes it the forgettable actioner that it is. Denise’s story has a beautiful setup and, if for a different project with a different writer, it might’ve flourished. 

The Dinosaurs

Anyone who wants to watch this just for the dinosaurs need not worry because Oak Street absolutely delivers in that department.

A few years ago, there was a film called 65 starring Adam Driver. In my review, I lamented the fact that dinosaurs on film had been colonised by the Jurassic franchise, preventing actual horror films featuring them from getting made. 65 was a noble effort but it didn’t go far enough. Neither does Oak Street, but it goes further than any other tentpole dino flick.

In classic monster movie fashion, the first reveal of the dinosaurs is very gradual. First, we see their footprints. Then we hear them. Then we see the stuff they knock over. Then we see three scaly, clawed digits. You can hate the writing, but the filmmaking here is hard not to like.

I’m not a palaeontologist, but I have no doubt many will appreciate the inclusion of feathered dinosaurs. Plus, they could make the film stand out amongst its Jurassic counterparts going forward.

There is gore in this film. Not a lot, but enough to make you go ‘ouch!’

I didn’t catch this in the cinema and honestly I’m glad. The generic, soulless writing does not warrant the price of admission. It’s best enjoyed with friends and family on a free weekend.

I give The End Of Oak Street a worthy but mediocre 5 out of 10.