The Front Room review.
Some fine performances in a very slight story with even less to say.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Front Room
Directed by Max Eggers and Sam Eggers
Screenplay by Max Eggers and Sam Eggers
Starring Brandy, Kathryn Hunter and Andrew Burnap
The Front Room Review
The Witch proved to be one of the more interesting directorial debuts when it was released back in February of 2016. It immediately propelled director Robert Eggers into the coveted “must-watch” category. Flash forward to 2024…his Nosferatu is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The Front Room marks the directorial debut of Max and Sam Eggers…Robert’s brothers. It shows off a competency for the medium…and an ability to capture strong performances. Unfortunately, it won’t be catapulting them into any such standing. The story of The Front Room is, largely, how slight the idea is.
When his father dies, Norman (Andrew Burnap) reluctantly agrees to take his stepmother Solange (Kathryn Hunter) into his home. Solange immediately begins to wreak havoc on her very pregnant daughter-in-law Belinda (Brandy). Convinced that Solange is trying to take over their home, Belinda struggles with how to deal with a newborn baby and a mean old woman who acts like one.
Let’s start with the positives. This is a nice way of saying that there aren’t many positives. When a good movie comes around, you’ll often see reviews begin by saying “let’s get the negatives out of the way first”. This is that but for movies that aren’t that good. The Front Room isn’t terrible…I don’t want to give that impression. It features an excellent antagonist in Solange. Kathryn Hunter is tremendous. She creates an incredibly memorable character whose depths seem to know no bounds. She keeps The Front Room from falling into unwatchable territory.
Hunter isn’t alone on that front. Brandy is quite good as the lead of the picture. Her overwhelmed Belinda is constantly pushed to the brink of madness by Solange. There are some disgusting moments in The Front Room as Solange gives Belinda a sneak peak of what taking care of a baby is like. If that baby was a manipulative, evil old hag. Brandy shows strong lead role ability here. Hopefully she’ll get more opportunities at interesting characters in movies that have something more to say.
One other thing before we get to the meat of the issue…The Front Room is surprisingly funny at times. It’s intentional…not in a “so bad it’s good” way. The movie is at its best when it leans into dark comedy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do so often enough. Had the whole production gone that route…we’d probably be having a different conversation right now.
The truth is…there isn’t much going on in The Front Room. At least, narratively. As a showcase for Brandy vs. Kathryn Hunter…it’s fine. As a compelling story building tension towards a big climax…it’s not. The final image of the film is a strong one. Enough to make you wonder if the story was written from the end back. It would explain how little momentum the movie has from step to step. Nothing is really happening here. Belinda is being driven mad by a situation that would best anyone…and that’s it. There’s no twist to it. There’s no setback or detour. The story in The Front Room is so slight that you start to question if anything it’s doing even has meaning. That’s a tough place to be in with a movie.
Any time The Front Room seems like it might be taking a more interesting path…it doubles back to its sole purpose. Belinda believes Solange is trying to take over her life. Whether it’s true or not factors in far less than you’d imagine. Either she is trying to be helpful but is such a problematic and contemptuous person that you don’t believe it…or she’s evil and Belinda is right about her wild accusations. Actually, we know the answer because we are watching the movie. Belinda might be an unreliable narrator due to her constant stress…but The Front Room barely presents that as an option. When we watch Solange throw herself into a table and blame Belinda…we have no reason to believe that isn’t what happened.
The lack of doubt is a problem for remaining engaged in The Front Room. You clearly aren’t supposed to side with Solange…but the movie never lets her gain enough of an advantage for her deceptions to add real stakes. She just sits in her room, screaming for help, making everyone around her miserable. It makes her bigger moments even more head scratching. What is her endgame? If Belinda is right, The Front Room never lets Solange get close enough for it to feel like a true threat. It leaves you wondering what the point is. The final moments of the movie seem to indicate that there wasn’t one.
The Front Room is a solid production of a movie with nothing much to say. A strong antagonist (with a wild performance) and a solid lead performance highlight an underwhelming story. Moments of bleak humor add a bit to the proceedings…but not enough to overcome the feeling that there isn’t enough here to rise above “decent”.
Scare Value
There’s nothing wrong with The Front Room. There’s also very little to get excited about. Kathryn Hunter is terrific. Brandy is very good as well. That’s about all there is too it. Aside from some darkly humorous moments…the Eggers brothers never find much of a point to any of this. A solid ending scene lets you leave the theater feeling better than you did for most of the first hour and a half. So, there’s that.
2.5/5
The Front Room Link
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