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| The End of Oak Street |
Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, P.J. Byrne, Chris Coy
Music: Michael Giacchino
Cinematography: Michael Gioulakis
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Hannah Minghella, Jon Cohen, David Robert Mitchell, Matt Jackson, Tommy Harper
Running Time: 99 minutes
Written by: David Robert Mitchell
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
In this film, we meet the Platts. The mother and father, Denise (Oscar winner Anne Hathaway) and Greg (Ewan McGregor), do a poor job of hiding their marital instability from their two teenage children, Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery). But that is not all they are hiding from their loved ones. Denise spends her nights in the basement, working on a novel that is clearly a way of processing her unspoken desire to escape, while Greg works a variety of what would later be called “side hustles” to make up for his unstable employment.
Like most children in the pre-Twitter era, Audrey and Brian manage to maintain their own private lives, away from their parents’ reach. Although Brian is clearly a good kid, he has a typical rebellious streak that includes smoking cigarettes and, more recently, getting into a violent fight with his bully. Audrey is more obsessed with trying to escape her small town, hoping to get into Cornell to study the cosmos under the tutelage of the legendary Carl Sagan.
But all of these domestic problems must be put on hold when something incredibly terrifying and astonishing happens in their neighborhood. Following a violent nighttime storm that suddenly ends with the abrupt loss of their electricity, water, and telephone service, the Platts gradually realize that it is not only their utilities that have changed. The appearance of extinct prehistoric flora and fauna provides the first clue that something is seriously wrong with the space-time continuum.
I see this film as David Robert Mitchell’s calling card to Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, an attempt to earn his respect. There are some good ideas, as well as certain details that raise an eyebrow. There is a great deal of subtlety in the way the dinosaurs are presented. Small fragments of information and clues about what is really happening on Oak Street are an exciting and stimulating way of making the audience feel as though they are making discoveries at the same time as the central family. Mitchell gradually unravels his narrative elements, generating the necessary suspense that leads us to the astonishing reveal of the dinosaurs in all their glory.
Properly adorned with feathers, scars, and wounds, these giant reptiles look more realistic than most cinematic dinosaurs, and each species shown gets its own opportunity to shine. Mitchell also does not sacrifice style, creating a couple of sequences that are highly effective and even frightening, particularly the T. rex asserting its dominance.
The filmmaker also embraces the humor that arises from the absurdity of the crazy scenario surrounding the human characters, such as a brontosaurus having the best day of its life after discovering an ice cream truck, or a ridiculous moment in which a character makes sure to close the door after leaving a completely destroyed bathroom.
Hathaway is excellent as Denise, a housewife who suddenly has to run for her life and the lives of her loved ones after years of dissatisfaction. Ewan McGregor is always a pleasant presence on screen, and although his character is not entirely well developed, the actor’s charisma, combined with the chemistry he shares with Hathaway, creates the necessary bond to make us care about them and their family.
“The End of Oak Street” (2026) unintentionally turns out to be a true spiritual sequel to “Jurassic Park” (1993). Spielberg could give Mitchell a pat on the back and tell him, “Good job, kid!” On the other hand, this is a dystopian film about a family facing two crises, featuring an inspired premise with flashes of innovation, an Oscar-winning score by Michael Giacchino that evokes the masterful work of John Williams, and a film that delivers fun, excitement, and action during the summer movie season—ideal for exactly that purpose.
RATING FOR “THE END OF OAK STREET” (2026):
EXCELLENT
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