The End of Oak Street traps an ordinary suburban family in prehistoric times, mixing realistic dinosaurs, family drama, and suspense with a distinctly different take on the genre.
Ever since there have been movies, there have been movies about dinosaurs because, even though they became extinct millions of years before humans roamed the Earth, humans seem to be fascinated by them. Whether it is a fantasy about humans and dinosaurs co-existing, a horror movie where dinosaurs stalk their human victims, or colorful dinosaurs that come to life and befriend little boys and girls, dinosaurs are always making an appearance on the big screen. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that one of the latest films to make its way into theaters includes dinosaurs. The End of Oak Street, out in theaters now, offers a glimpse of how humans would fare if they had to live in a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Oak Street is your average residential street in your typical suburban neighborhood in the year 1982. Denise Platt (Anne Hathaway; The Devil Wears Prada 2) is a typical suburban housewife dreaming of leaving her stale marriage and becoming a novelist. Her husband, Gregg (Ewan McGregor; Obi-Wan Kenobi), lost his job and is working part-time as a pizza delivery guy. They live on Oak Street with their two kids and the family dog.
When strange things begin happening...a long-extinct plant shows up in their neighbor's yard, a large pile of excrement appears in another yard, etc., they find it weird but seem unconcerned. However, after a large solar flare appears, the atmosphere changes and the Platts' neighborhood seems to be surrounded by subtropical woods. Suddenly, dinosaurs come out of the woods, and they realize 1) the whole neighborhood is surrounded with no way to escape and 2) they are no longer in their "time." They must figure out what happened and how to survive in prehistoric times.
Writer/director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) does a wonderful job building suspense, creating visuals, and keeping the pacing moving throughout the hour-and-forty-minute runtime. The dinosaurs look incredibly realistic, as do the prehistoric woods, and the 1982 suburban neighborhood is carefully created. While there will be the obvious comparisons to Land of the Lost and Jurassic Park, The End of Oak Street has its own unique look and feel that sets it apart from its predecessors.
Hathaway shows her diversity as an actress here with moments of sadness at the disintegrating state of her marriage, fear as she realizes they are trapped with limited resources, and anger as she shoots prehistoric creatures into oblivion. McGregor takes a more passive and cheerful role, as Gregg buries his head in the sand rather than deal with issues. Together they make a great team. Maisy Stella (Nashville) and Christian Convery (Cocaine Bear) do a good job as their kids, and P.J. Byrne (The Wolf of Wall Street) has a great but smaller role as the Platts' annoying neighbor.
The special effects are a highlight of the film, as each feather or hair on the dinosaurs is easily seen with the naked eye and moves effortlessly with the creatures. The prehistoric jungle is very well recreated, as is the 1982 suburban neighborhood that the Platts live in. Rounding out the technical aspects, the score is subtle but builds tension throughout the film.
If you are a fan of dinosaur movies, The End of Oak Street should be one that you see. However, if you are loyal to the Jurassic franchise, you may feel disappointed by this latest take on the monsters from the past. Also, the whole "wormhole" theory seemed a little weak to me and left me with more questions than answers as the credits rolled, but I will say this film had the funniest sex scene I have EVER seen.
Grade: B-
