The Front Room Review
The Front Room (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Max Eggers and Sam Eggers, written by Susan Hill, Max Eggers and Sam Eggers and starring Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap, Kathryn Hunter, Neal Huff, David Manis, Mary Testa, Morgen McKynzie, Kerry Flanagan, Wendy Heagy, Rueby Wray, Chasity Orr, Charlize Orr, Scottie DiGiacomo and Toree Hill.
Last year, Kathryn Hunter was spectacular in the role of an eccentric madam in the terrific Oscar-nominated film, Poor Things. She came pretty damn close to getting an Oscar nomination if you ask me and the only thing holding her back from one was probably her limited screen time. So, it’s surprising to see her putting her energy into a tepid horror movie called The Front Room. As far as these types of “fill in the blank from hell” movies, this one isn’t very good but it’s certainly memorable thanks to the work of the always intriguing Hunter. Directors Max Eggers and Sam Eggers kick off this new A24 horror movie with a cheesy opening credits sequence and the movie never quite recovers from those lame credits which are pretty forgettable. All I remember is that they were really trite.
Brandy Norwood stars in the picture as a woman named Belinda who works as an adjunct professor at a university. She’s struggling a bit financially even though her husband, Norman (a bland Andrew Burnap) seems to be doing pretty well for himself. Belinda can’t get to talk to her boss because he’s too concerned with new hires rather than promoting Belinda to a tenured position. Norman’s side of the family is suffering a devastating loss and Norman’s stepmother, Solange (Hunter), is soon revealed to be willing to help Belinda and Norman financially if they let her move in with them.
Here’s the problem I had with this picture. Solange offers Norman and Belinda enough money to pay off their mortgage. Belinda is pregnant. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to keep the money in the bank and live off of it rather than pay up the mortgage in full so, perhaps, maybe both Norman and Belinda could stay home with the baby at least for a few months when it was born? This is the type of film where you don’t ask logical questions like that. But, given that Solange needs a lot of attention and that there’s a baby on the way, perhaps, the married parents could have worked something out that made more sense than the arrangement that happens in this movie.
We’re lucky enough in today’s society that men can take off from work to help care for a baby. Norman and Belinda should have forgotten the need to go to work and enjoy their newfound money when they took Solange in. Instead, the movie has Norman letting his wife, Belinda, deal with Solange’s annoying shenanigans. Solange is a pain in the ass, a racist and a stubborn old lady and Belinda is forced to try to respect her mostly because Solange paid off her mortgage for her. Directors Max and Sam Eggers have an antiquated story at their helm here. Perhaps, they co-wrote this script years ago because it just doesn’t fly in today’s society. Not unless a person is interested in taking care of a crazy lady and a baby at the same time. People are more interested in paying off their mortgage than their quality of life in The Front Room.
As Solange, Kathryn Hunter gives a very distinct and very frustrating performance. She’s a crazy woman. A loon. She takes a napkin at dinner time and puts it on her head in the shape of a Ku Klux Klan member’s hat. She goes to the bathroom a lot. The movie doesn’t spare shots of ugly things she leaves in the toilet for Belinda to clean up. Hunter “goes for broke” here and I’d be lying if I said she didn’t make me laugh on a few occasions with the ridiculous places she takes her character. Norwood’s Belinda is the perfect foe for Solange and the pair share some great scenes together in which you can tell that Belinda wants to kick the crap out of her mother-in-law.
Norwood is a fine actress but she’s miscast in this particular role. She gives the energy and commitment the role requires but the movie could have used the edge of a more decorated actress. Norwood tries hard and by film’s end, you like the character but the final reveal pulls the rug out from the rest of the film which, in turn, makes Belinda a lot less respectable than she might have been in different circumstances. People love money so much in The Front Room that they’d seemingly rather commit a crime than divorce or separate from one another.
The saving grace of this movie is Hunter. She dons a bald head in a bath tub at one point with a scrawny body. It feels like in this scene, her body is CGI but Hunter’s characterization is well-rendered in it. The movie defies logic so much that I thought it was edited wrong. Belinda ends up pregnant again after her baby is born despite the fact she’s living a hell of a life with Solange. I was paying attention but some things are just mind-baffling here. You could probably go on all day nitpicking what is wrong with this picture.
Having said that, the movie is still interesting and could be a winner for some die-hard horror fans. Hunter is a treasure of an actress while the film’s preposterous plot twists are tailor-made for those who like oddball Ari Aster movies. This isn’t as dark as an Aster movie but these Eggers guys are preaching to the same choir that liked Aster’s movies with The Front Room.
Rating: 6/10
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