Finally, after eight years, we have a new film by David Robert Mitchell. The director gained a cult-like following after his second feature, It Follows (2014), and has not made a film since Under the Silver Lake (2018); his new film has been in development for some time. The End of Oak Street, now finally hitting theaters, continues Warner Brothers’ streak of giving moderately sized budgets to auteur directors, a practice that other studios should take note of.
From Sinners (2025), Weapons (2025), Mickey 17 (2025), and One Battle After Another (2025), the studio has been able to identify great directors and give them the freedom and moderate budget to illustrate their original ideas. Which is what audiences want right now. Although IP-driven titles are still bringing in great money at the box office, audiences have shown out for original titles as well. It’s a slow shift we have seen as IP has driven much of the 2010s, but now it seems to show a different story, and Oak Street is a further testament to the appreciation of original storytelling.
The End of Oak Street is one of the boldest original ideas they have put on screen. Influenced by the adventure films of the 80s and 90s, as well as the Amblin formula from the same time, the film stars Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as the parents of the Platt family. The family and their neighborhood are mysteriously transported to 65 million years ago as dinosaurs roam, and they must fight for their survival as they try to get home.
Oak Street immediately gets to its premise. At a runtime of an hour and forty minutes, it is paced incredibly well. You immediately understand the family dynamics, and then you are plunged into a world full of dinosaurs. It becomes a nonstop adrenaline ride. There are some script issues and some confounding decisions in the plot progression, but it doesn’t take away from the overall product. The ride is easy to digest, making you appreciate the standout technical elements even more.
For the kind of movie this is, Oak Street is gorgeously well made. Mitchell’s direction is sleek, and his blocking of all the set pieces is meticulous. He builds tension by slowly showing glimpses of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes rather than having them devour the full frame. You have no idea what is going to be around any corner. Lurking shadows and careful framing make it so that we can’t really decide if the dinosaurs are going to cause harm or just run away. There are a couple of standout set pieces — including a night chase and an electric day chase shot in a wide shot oner — that were a joy to see in the theater. Experiencing adventure films like this makes me wonder why studios don’t produce three or four of these kinds of movies every year.
Another reason this film stands out is Hathaway. She is arguably having the best year of her career, and out of all the performances I have seen from her so far this year, I believe this is her best work, outdoing The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, she is more reserved and amps it up when needed, while in this movie she can balance that work on top of the physicality she has to impose for nearly the entire runtime, as well as showing off the emotions. From scene to scene, she must recompose herself amid the small and big moments of everything that is happening around her. She is the leader of the family and the main character who drives the plot forward. While obviously the family is a huge part of the narrative, it really does feel like her movie from the jump, which helps you realize how much work she is putting into this performance.
The major criticism I have of this film is with its ending. I cannot fully go into what makes it not work for spoiler’s sake, but I can say it undermines some of the nuance and emotional ideas earlier in the film. Since seeing the film, some aspects of the finale have grown on me, but there are other aspects that still leave me scratching my head, wondering how they came to some of these decisions. It doesn’t outright ruin the movie, but if they had stuck the landing, it would have been a major surprise of the summer.
The End of Oak Street is a wonderful journey from start to finish that perfectly encapsulates the adventure films of old. With its strong characterization and grand set pieces, it makes for a great theater experience. It would be a shame not to see this in a theater because, while it may seem like a small story, its big scale allows you to settle in for one of the most enjoyable rides of the summer.
Review Courtesy of Jacob Diedenhofer
Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros.