Imagine waking up one morning, looking out your window and realising that your entire neighbourhood has fallen through the cracks of some bizarre kink in the time-space continuum, leading to the entire area being transplanted into the prehistoric age, where we are suddenly forced to engage in an act of survival through the attempt to evade the vicious dinosaurs that now occupy the same space, patiently waiting for their next meal. It’s a very niche fear, and one that I don’t believe is too much of a concern to many of us – or at least it wasn’t, until The End of Oak Street came along and planted this terrifying and utterly implausible idea into our heads. It is not a surprise that this absolutely bizarre premise has sprung from the mind of David Robert Mitchell, who has seemingly never had a conventional thought in his life, which is precisely why he has been hailed as one of the most unique and innovative directors of his generation. Returning to the medium after more than half a decade (for reasons that become clear once we look at what his previous film was, and how it didn’t quite align with the industry’s belief on what constitutes a successful film), he sets out to make yet another subversive genre film in the form of a film that blends family drama, science fiction and survival thriller. The film is set in 1982, and follows the Platts, an ordinary family who live in suburban Michigan, where they go through all the usual trials and tribulations as any other – until they suddenly find themselves plunged into the distant path, along with all their neighbours, waking up one morning to find that they’ve been transported to the age of the dinosaurs – and the wonder and whimsy quickly evaporates when it becomes clear that they are not merely going to be able to observe these creatures, but rather are considered to be their prey, leading the family down a path where they have to resort to desperate measures merely to survive, which proves to be far more difficult than any of them expected. A film that delivers on every one of its promises (and does even more than we anticipated) while remaining quite solid in what it intends to say, The End of Oak Street is certainly a peculiar film, but one that is undeniably very entertaining, even at its most seemingly obvious, which proves that some stories are going to captivate us regardless of any flaws in their execution, all of which prove to be easily remedied by the sheer ambition behind this film.

The best kind of science fiction film is the one that makes us guess what the impetus behind its creation was, since the more enigmatic its intentions, the likelier it is to be original and compelling in ways that often defy the industry’s recent tendency to depend on a few key themes as the foundation for these films. Whatever drove Mitchell to conceive of this story isn’t clear – whether it was the idea of a suburban family having to fight for their lives against dinosaurs, or merely the idea of a seemingly ordinary neighbourhood suddenly being transplanted to a different place and time, following the chaos that ensues when the careful balance is disrupted, there is always something interesting happening in this film. Mitchell is a very smart filmmaker, so we can certainly expect a lot of The End of Oak Street to revolve around something a bit deeper, and what I found to be peeking through the layers of the film – albeit in quite a subtle way – was the idea of humans, often considered to be the definition of an apex predator, suddenly being thrust into a position where they become prey. The past was a time in which everything was seemingly bigger and more intimidating, so the contrast of a sprawling neighbourhood suddenly becoming the landscape on which many innocent people are forced to fight for their lives is a fascinating one, and something that the film explores in curious ways, even if we can clearly see much of this idea was lost in the process of reworking the original script, which was evidently a bit more complex than the final product based on what we know about the production. Nonetheless, The End of Oak Street still finds other ways to keep the audience invested, which involves the integration of a number of additional themes that do align with a more traditional narrative structure. The foundation of the film is a story about a family working together to get through a difficult situation – and this doesn’t refer to running from their newly arrived prehistoric neighbours, but rather their own internal crises. Divorce, unemployment, bullying and isolation are all prominent themes that factor into the story, and while it can occasionally be quite heavy-handed in how it delivers on those ideas, it all ultimately makes for very compelling viewing that has much more to say than we would have initially expected based on a glance at the premise.

One of the reasons The End of Oak Street was able to enter production was due to Anne Hathaway signing up for the film quite early on, evidently because she was either interested in working with Mitchell or there was something about the concept that drew her in. Considering she has made some fascinating choices in the past when it comes to taking a risk on a more unconventional concept, it’s clear that this idea spoke to her, especially since it was unlike anything she has done previously. As Denise, she delivers a stellar performance that reminds us precisely why she has been a mainstay of the industry for a quarter of a century, someone who is always worth watching even when the material may not be quite up to scratch. So much of this film relies on her incredibly moving performance, where she plays a woman desperate to protect her husband and children from the dangers that surround them, while also attempting to pursue her own passions, which become the emotional core of the film. There is a reason why Hathaway has often been cited as one of the true movie stars of her generation, and her ability to carry this film is more than enough proof of her exceptional skills in practice. She’s accompanied on this journey by Ewan McGregor, who plays Greg, the husband who is also trying to be a good role model to his children but finds himself struggling to prove himself as a result of a personal crisis that he has kept concealed from his family. McGregor is never anything less than reliable, and while he is not the most interesting character in terms of his arc, his likability and ability to touch on some very raw emotions without overplaying them is part of the appeal of the film. The child protagonists are played by Maisy Stella and Christian Convery, and while neither of them is a newcomer (in fact, they both have several very impressive performances under their belts), they are still emerging as artists, and this film gives them the opportunity to showcase their skills in a controlled but still quite challenging environment. The story does place their characters in slightly more difficult positions, since they have their own individual challenges that precede the core events that also have to be assimilated into the main storyline, and it would be difficult not to resort to the same tacky techniques, but both actors prove to be able to provide the necessary complexity. The entire cast is tremendous, and it proves that good actors can elevate some of the strangest material, turning it into something quite special with the right combination of effort and raw talent, of which this film has more than an abundance.

Much has been made about the tone and style of this film, with many feeling that The End of Oak Street was a deliberate attempt to pay homage to the crowd-pleasing, family-oriented genre films produced by people like Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis over the years (and it certainly is helped by the presence of J.J. Abrams as the lead producer, since he is often considered someone who has been adamant in trying to be the heir apparent to these filmmakers), which we can see in both the story and how it is executed. It is undeniable that the story being told does contain a few very saccharine emotions, which seems to be entirely by design – I’d hesitate to call it a satire (at least not in its final form), but there is a sense that Mitchell was paying tribute not only to the broader and more elaborate genre-based elements of the science fiction films that defined his childhood, but also the more subtle qualities that are rarely discussed, but still very much a part of these stories. Whether it is through the occasional reminder that these characters are still facing tense interpersonal problems even while enduring the most bizarre of occurrences (it seems as if one’s entire neighbourhood became the hunting ground for vicious dinosaurs doesn’t easily lend itself to conversations around divorce or suspected alcoholism and that everyone involved may have slightly bigger priorities, to name just one peculiarity of this film), or the fact that it was evidently crafted to be more than just a survival thriller, that indicates there is always space for additional readings of this film, as abstract as it may seem. However, it ultimately isn’t worth becoming too fixated on these elements (especially since this would just lead to a conversation around the over-reliance on exposition, or how it seems to abandon logic midway through), since the reason The End of Oak Street does end up working so well is that it is just a purely entertaining film, an opportunity to tell a novel story in a way that is enjoyable and never too intent on taking itself or its subject matter all that seriously. Mitchell is determined not to squander the resources he has been given, crafting a stunning science fiction thriller that actually seems well-made, with exceptional cinematography (the camera work in some climactic sequences is genuinely brilliant) and strong visual effects bringing this strange story to life. The film proves that it is always worth taking a gamble on a director who has a strong vision, since even if he is not the person we’d expect to have made a thrilling science fiction film, Mitchell delivers something genuinely enjoyable, which makes a profound difference in our enjoyment of this material.

While it may not be quite as exciting and inventive as It Follows and Under the Silver Lake in terms of concept and narrative ambition, it is nonetheless very encouraging to see Mitchell being given the opportunity to make another film, as the commercial failure of the latter did make it seem like it would be a struggle for him to get another one of his films financed (as it turns out, a Thomas Pynchon-inspired acidic film noir about the sinister organisations that run the world is not a particularly easy sell for casual audiences), despite him being one of the most exciting filmmakers of his generation. The End of Oak Street is perhaps not the definition of a passion project, and certainly does function as an opportunity for Mitchell to reassert his skill beyond just making strange and offbeat genre films, but it remains exceptionally entertaining in all the ways that ultimately matter. This film is a pertinent reminder that some of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences come from filmmakers who are willing to take risks, even when the results are not quite as polished as we may have hoped. This film is certainly rough around the edges and is far from perfect, but considering it hails from one of the most fascinating creative minds we have working today, it’s not difficult to understand the appeal. Mitchell’s willingness to embrace the more strange and unexpected aspects of life is fully on display here, and proves to distinguish him from many of his contemporaries, who rely too much on convention without being willing to challenge the artistic status quo. There is something so refreshing about a film that can take such an absurd premise and make it not only plausible but also genuinely entertaining, turning it into an occasionally moving exploration of family, survival and the challenges that come with staying true to your intentions, even if these do eventually prove to only be the starting point for something much more peculiar. A welcome return to the medium for a director who is the definition of a visionary voice, to the point where even his efforts to make a mainstream film about dinosaurs prove to have an abundance of artistic merit, The End of Oak Street is an outrageously fun time, and more than sufficient in offering some solid, reliable entertainment that never overstays its welcome (being a wonderfully reasonable 99 minutes) and gives us everything that we’d expect from such a far-fetched subject.