'The Front Room' Is Much Better Than You’ve Heard

The Eggers Brothers' new film is funny, disturbing, and thought-provoking.

The Front Room is the feature writing/directing debut of twin brothers Max and Sam Eggers; their elder sibling, Robert, is the critically acclaimed filmmaker responsible for films such as The Witch and The Lighthouse (which Max co-wrote). Those expecting The Front Room to be a Robert Eggers joint, however, may be disappointed: other than some literal DNA and an appreciation for flatulence humor, the younger Eggers’ picture has little in common with the elder Eggers’ oeuvre.

I don’t know for sure that the divergence is why critics responded so negatively to The Front Room. Nor do I know for sure that the poor reviews are why audiences stayed away from the film during its opening weekend. But I’m here to tell you that The Front Room is funny, disturbing, thought-provoking, and 100% worth your time.

Loosely based on a 2016 short story by Susan Hill, The Front Room is about Belinda (Brandy Norwood), an adjunct anthropology professor. Belinda’s husband, Norman (Andrew Burnap), is a public defender, and she hasn’t secured tenure at work and is in danger of being fired, so they ain’t doin’ so hot financially… on top of which, Belinda is pregnant with the couple’s second child after their son was stillborn.

So when Norman’s ailing and wealthy stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter), offers to give the couple all of her money if they let her live out her last days in their home, Belinda is all, “We should totally do this.” Norman tries to warn his wife that Solange - who pronounces Belinda’s name as “Belinder” and calls Norman “Norman Jean” - is a devout Christian who believes the Holy Spirit “possesses her and gives her power,” and is a racist to boot. Alas, Belinda doesn’t take Norman’s word for it; she has more empathy for Solange than her husband, and as I said, she wants that inheritance. Besides, Solange is clearly on her last legs (literally - she needs dual canes to walk), so how long can she burden the spouses, really?

I won’t tell you exactly where things go from there, but I can tell you that Solange turns out to be a handful; she may also have religious powers, like, for really real. She’s one of the more truly unsettling horror movie antagonists we’ve seen in a while - forceful, outspoken, and manipulative to the nth degree - and Hunter’s volatile, chameleonic performance has to be seen to be believed. The fruit leather-voiced 67-year-old has been acting on the stage and screen since the ‘80s, but is enjoying a career renaissance as of late, thanks to her memorable turns in The Tragedy of Macbeth and Poor Things, and Solange is her pièce de résistance. I know awards don’t matter, but still: people should be hurling gold statues at Hunter for her work here. Brandy and Burnap are both excellent, too, but they can’t compete, which may be another reason critics don’t appreciate The Front Room.

ANOTHER another reason why critics may not dig the film is its thematic complexity. The Front Room has things to say about religion, motherhood, and familial legacy, and those things can’t really be summed up in a few sentences; I’m not even sure they can be summed up after just one viewing. I think the way the movie draws direct parallels between babies and the elderly is also just, like, upsetting. I think The Front Room will touch a nerve for anyone who has ever had to deal with having a sick parent, because, frankly, it feels authentic (and often explicit and gross - maybe don’t buy snacks for this one). The Front Room isn’t being sold as a body horror movie, but in many ways, it is.

In fact, The Front Room might be almost too off-putting to watch if not for its healthy dose of dark, offbeat humor. Like much of the work of Ari Aster, The Front Room has as much claim to being a comedy as it does to being a horror flick; the tonal balancing act totally worked for me, but, again, it seems to be an issue for other people.

I would stop short of calling The Front Room a masterpiece; I think both the structure and pacing are a little wonky, which makes the movie’s perfectly reasonable 95-minute run time feel a little longer (although it still feels shorter than Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Trap, both of which run about 105 minutes), and the ending is a little abrupt. Still, The Front Room is so much better than the hype would have you believe. Solange is more than welcome to crash at my place whenever she likes.