The Oak Room, directed by Cody Calahan and written by Peter Genoway as an adaptation of his play of the same name, examines storytelling and masculinity through a series of stories told within different bar settings.
Atmosphere
The Oak Room builds its story through setting and atmosphere. The snow-covered roads and dark neon lighting filling every corner of every bar help maintain an idea of small-town mystery. This combined with the mysterious and beautiful score composed by Steph Copeland sets the tone of the film quickly and remains consistent, offering more insight into the characters and their escalating issues with one another.
The visual style of The Oak Room brought to mind the beauty found within the photography of night fog and the combination of neon lights and the midnight darkness. This aesthetic works well in The Oak Room and feels fitting for its languid pacing. But at times, this style is not enough to keep the interest in the film and its examination of the quiet storytelling frequently found in bars late at night.
Performances
One of the strengths of The Oak Room is its performances. Peter Outerbridge shines as Paul, the bartender with a challenging past with his latest customer Steve, played wonderfully by RJ Mitte. Outerbridge and Mitte work well together and make Paul and Steve’s dislike of each other come through in their body language and delivery. The moments where we are brought back to this bar and away from the other stories the film is built around are more engaging and interesting.
Ari Millen, Martin Roach, and Nicholas Campbell give captivating performances in their flashback stories, but the twists and turns throughout these moments never feel fully surprising. The strength of performances helps The Oak Room work even in moments where its story falls flat. In the opening moments between Paul and Steve, the potential of their past relationship and just what caused the dissonance between them is intriguing. The film could have worked better if the stories seemed to reveal more about their own relationship. Certain moments in the film did this, and those worked much better and added to the tension back in the original bar between Paul and Steve.
Pacing and Story
The Oak Room sets itself up as an examination of storytelling, yet the stories told through flashbacks never completely land. The mystery that builds throughout the film can easily be figured out, which stopped me from being completely invested in the stories being told. I felt as if I was waiting for the inevitable instead of being engrossed in the stories being told and how everything would come together.
Some of the stories added bits of tension to the overarching idea, but too often these stories fell flat and relied on the film’s established atmosphere to sell the horror within these moments.
The Oak Room comes together in the end, but the pacing to get to this moment of revelation is too slow and the violent conclusion ends before you have the time to fully appreciate it. The slow burn storytelling works at times, but there were moments when I wondered how far into the film I was and how little seemed to happen, and how little was revealed about the aspects of the story that intrigued me the most.
Conclusion
The Oak Room brings light to the darkness of storytelling associated with small-town bars and the languid atmosphere found when the world is colored by neon and fog, but at times this is not enough to stay invested in the story and its characters. Peter Outerbridge and RJ Mitte establish their characters – and the tense relationship between the pair – but too often, the film feels focused more on revealing a mystery than revealing more about this challenging dynamic.
Do you like slow-burn films and if so, do you prefer slow-burn horror and thrillers or other genres? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The Oak Room will be released in theaters and on-demand April 2, 2021.
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