The Front Room

The Front Room
Starring Brandy, Kathryn Hunter, Andrew Burnap, Neal Huff
Directed by Max and Sam Eggers

It's rare that I go into a film totally blind, not seeing a trailer or hearing anything about a movie, and "The Front Room" is one such movie. I knew nothing about the premise, what it entailed, or anything about it until I sat down and watched it. Then hearing it's from A24 and directed by Max and Sam Eggers (half-brothers of Robert Eggers, director of "The Lightouse," "The Witch" and "The Northman"), I was excited to see what would come. Sadly, sometimes the talent doesn't run in the family, and while there was some noteworthy moments in this film, overall it felt like it didn't know where it was supposed to go, leaving us confused and underwhelmed.

Belinda (Brandy) and her husband Norman (Andrew Burnap) are expecting a child after the loss of their first child, and things are a bit rough around the house - Belinda quit her job and finances are dire. When Norman's estranged father dies, he attends the funeral and runs into his equally estranged mother-in-law Solange (Kathryn Hunter), a severely devout woman. When she tells them that she left everything to them in the will, it came with a stipulation - she has to live with them. Norman is against it because he grew up under her overly religious shadow, but Belinda sees this as an opportunity to help with finances, so Solange moves into their front room.

Not soon after, Belinda sees the error of her ways, as Solange is a racist, disrespectful, needy person who can't seemingly do anything on her own, and belittles Belinda and Norman at every turn. She brings her religious friends to the house and speaks in tongues to Belinda's dismay, and when she gives birth to her daughter, Solange seemingly wants to become her mother. Compiled with a crying baby and a whiny elderly woman, Belinda slowly loses her mind and experiences events that may or may not be Solange's doing, resulting in a crisis of faith for everyone involved.

"The Front Room" is a mismatched film in every sense of the word, but still I didn't find myself hating it for reasons I'll reveal later. It's a horror movie, but it could also easily be a family drama, a deep study in how we face death and its impending drumbeat, and also - oddly enough - a Seth MacFarlane comedy, as I found myself laughing out loud numerous times, moreso than I do at pure comedy movies. The tone is all over the place, the plot is happenstance, and it's like a Frankenstein's monster of storytelling, all jumbled and stapled together in hopes of making sense, but ultimately it's underwhelming.

First and foremost it's listed as horror, and it could be seen that way. There's hints of religious horror (think "Saint Maud") but also some supernatural aspects as well, but could also be a psychological horror as Belinda and Solange come to blows more often than not. Is there some evil presence out for Belinda's baby that Solange called upon? Or does she just want to usurp Belinda's authority as a mother? Who really knows. Is it terrifying? Not really. I wasn't scared at all throughout the movie, but again it didn't mean I had a bad time.

The film could also be a family drama, and every married partner's worst fear: living with your in-law. Belinda feels this head-on as Solange never lets up on her disrespectful nature and outlandish behavior, and as always the husband is the meek background character. Poor Belinda endures so much and Norman just sits back and surprisingly sometimes takes Solange's side in the arguments which prove infuriating and confusing. Still, seeing Belinda slowly lose her marbles is actually quite hilarious.

Then there's moments where the film dips its toes into relevant events in current culture such as racism and the extreme religious right, but those moments are too fleeting and far-between to ever land any sort of purpose. To top that off there's the side-story of the loss of Belinda and Norman's first child, which also doesn't really go anywhere. All of this could've been tossed out with Solange's shit-loaded bathwater and the film would've been better for it.

And that comedy is what saves this film from being a stick in the mud. It's downright hilarious and I think purposefully so. Solange is the roommate from hell, as she not only screams and shouts all the time, but has a whistle, and even invokes her incontinence to make Belinda's life a living hell (seriously, there is so much literal shit in this film, along with farts, vomit, and other excrement that you'd think this was a live-action "Family Guy" episode). I found myself gut-busting in laughter more often than not, thinking that this film was wrongfully listed as horror when it should've been a comedy.

That comedy comes from the great mix between Brandy and veteran stage actress Kathryn Hunter (who ravished the big screen recently in films "Poor Things" and "The Tragedy of MacBeth"). These two work off each other like Abbot and Costello, biting jabs and blows with pinpoint precision. Seeing Solange make Belinda's life a living hell is hilarious, as she loses her mind and her sanity throughout, with some great dialogue between the two women. Hunter utilizes her smaller frame to sheer excellence here, coming off as a poor old woman but exhibiting more power than you'd expect, with a glimmer of glee in her eye as she tries to turn Norman (who's name, by the way, couldn't be a coincidence, as anyone who saw "Psycho" could attest) against Belinda. There's even moments where Norman lifts a crying Solange in his arms like a big baby, with Solange giving Belinda a knowing evil smile that's just wonderful.

While it was tonally all over the place and left a lot on the floor, "The Front Room" is a great comedy that is exhibited through an amazing performance from Kathryn Hunter that saves the film from mediocrity.

The Score: B-