I love dinosaurs. "Who doesn't?" you might be thinking. I've always been fascinated by these prehistoric creatures. It's hard to get your head around the fact that these beasts roamed the Earth millions of years before homosapiens were even a thing. What they actually looked like, sounded like and behaved like is, of course, a matter of debate, but let's face it: dinosaurs are cool. When I was due to hold a book launch for one of the latest books I'd released in print, I signed about a hundred copies in advance. One quote I'm particularly proud of - and which says a lot about me - went as follows: "So, you want a personalised signature? Great. I want a dinosaur." And it's true. Not that I know what I'd do with a dinosaur, mind you.
Back to the point. Dinosaurs on film. I loved The Land that Time Forgot as a child, before I was old enough to see Jurassic Park. And when I finally got to see it - mind blown. I absolutely loved it. And the sequel, The Lost World. Say what you like about it in hindsight, but as a child it was brilliant. Most of all, I loved the scene towards the end when the derelict cargo ship crashes into the harbour. But there aren't that many good dinosaur films, are there? Of the Jurassic series, in the end it's really only the first and second ones I'm still fond of. Jurassic World was entertaining and fun to watch because I'm really hoping for a worthy revival, but it didn't amount to much more than that. And as for the latest one, Rebirth, let's not even go there. Goodness me, what a load of rubbish from start to finish - when they can't even manage to direct talented actors into creating any credible chemistry. What I'm trying to say amidst all this rambling is that I've long been missing a really good dinosaur film, so when End of Oak Street popped up in my feed back in April or thereabouts, my heart naturally started racing.
And now it's here. But what's it actually like?
For those who haven't caught up:
A family in the 1980s begins to suspect that something strange is going on in their neighbourhood, and soon they witness increasingly bizarre events. Plants suddenly spring up in one of their neighbours' gardens. The night after a storm with torrential rain and strange light phenomena, they wake up to a nightmare.
David Robert Mitchell is both the director and screenwriter. This is unexpected, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why expectations are running high. Mitchell was behind the horror film It Follows, which sounded incredibly daft on paper but turned out to be something completely different. I'm still looking forward to the much-talked-about sequel, They Follow. His latest film, Under the Silver Lake, came out in 2018. That was quite a few years ago now. I haven't looked into any possible reasons for the long hiatus, nor have I seen Silver Lake, which is said to be both strange and fascinating - and, according to some, not particularly good. So now he's back with what, on paper, could be described as a dinosaur horror-action-comedy. More or less. More on the plot later.
In the lead roles, we see two true veterans. Ewan McGregor, also known as Obi-Wan, surely needs no further introduction. He's appeared in an enormous number of productions and is, in my opinion, always a pleasure to watch. Here he plays Greg Platt, the dad and husband who harbours secrets and struggles with feelings of failure. And he drinks a fair bit.
His wife Denise is played by Anne Hathaway, who was last seen in The Devil Wears Prada 2. She, too, has an almost equally impressive CV. A versatile actress who can slot into comedy, action, heavy drama - or dinosaur survival. She's also hiding things and is fed up with the relationship.
Does all this family drama sound uninteresting? Yes. Essentially, that's what it is, but I actually think Mitchell manages to infuse it with something that adds value, even if he doesn't step outside the box. It's also a nice touch because, without giving anything away, it becomes part of the solution to the problem.
As far as the acting is concerned, I've absolutely nothing to criticise on the whole. Everyone does what they're supposed to, and looking scared and surprised in the face of CGI creatures is hardly going to win anyone an Oscar. But how does it all hold up? You just have to take the plot for what it is. There are, of course, plot holes as big as skyscrapers, but the film is structured in such a way that you can look past them. And let's face it: if you're sceptical from the outset about the logic of a film in which a residential neighbourhood in 1980s America happens to travel back to the age of the dinosaurs, then perhaps you really should watch something else instead. I like the premise. It's quirky and unexpected, and I don't need any deep analysis.
That said, it might take a while before I'm really drawn in. The characters aren't particularly interesting, but they're engaging nonetheless thanks to good actors and a family dynamic that's actually quite fun to follow. Not least when the emotional side actually works and gives the film another dimension. End of Oak Street is a stylish production from start to finish. I do feel that the balance between comedy and horror is a bit off, and in some ways it feels as though Mitchell had a brilliant basic idea but didn't always quite know what to do with it.
Thankfully, it still works reasonably well thanks to stylish effects, a good sense of tension and some unexpected twists. There's a mean streak in the film that I like and which comes as a surprise. Here, Mitchell really comes into his own. No one is safe. It's unpredictable and, at times, brutal. There's a scene which immediately reminds me of the end of the Game of Thrones episode The Mountain and the Viper, which floored me and made me rewind it to watch it over and over again. I won't say any more, but when you see it, you'll understand. It's dark, unexpected and actually goes a long way towards elevating the film.
So, to sum up: End of Oak Street is entertaining, stylish, quite thrilling at times, and offers some dark twists. It has to be said that, in my opinion, this is the best dinosaur film we've had in many, many years. Probably since The Lost World. However - and there's always a however - it does have its flaws. It could have been even more gripping, and the script could have been polished a little more if Mitchell had been more certain about what he actually wanted to tell, but there are plenty of enjoyable aspects here to appreciate. End of Oak Street isn't a home run, but it's well worth a watch. In fact, whether you like dinosaurs or not - though perhaps even more so if you do.