The Front Room

Clashing tones and performances sink this duo's directing debut

Siblings can frequently make great filmmaking partners, from the Wachowskis to the Duffer brothers, and of course the Coens. Max and Sam Eggers are a new duo that is premiering their first directing effort The Front Room (2024). They are better known for their other directing sibling Robert Eggers of The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019) fame.

The Front Room is the story of a pregnant couple, Belinda (Brandy Norwood) and Norman (Andrew Burnap), who are forced to house Norman’s ultra-religious stepmother Solange (Kathryn Hunter) after she is widowed. Once settled into the eponymous room in the house, Solange begins to slowly take over the home and the couple’s lives.

The Eggers brothers wrote the screenplay from scratch, yet sadly The Front Room doesn’t work on paper nor on screen. Playing with the trope of a newcomer turning a family against each other has been done in horror endlessly, The Orphan (2009) being a recent successful case. The Front Room could have repeated and played with these tropes, setting up a predictable if immersive film; yet the Eggers present a horribly mismatched clash of tones instead. The film is set up as a straight thriller, yet satirical and comedic elements seep in, full of poop and fart jokes, breaking any tension.

There are clear efforts to try and make The Front Room a cult A24-like film, with an eccentric villain and quirky elements. Yet this objective is so clearly telegraphed, viewers sense the desperation and the film fails to earn any memorability. The Eggers also fail to ramp up the stakes at a worthy rhythm, with most of the runtime feeling like an elongated first act, only for a tacked on, rushed epilogue wrapping things up. Entire acts of heightened tension and conflict are missing, and there isn’t a convincing climax, as a result failing one of the most basic aspects of storytelling.

The Front Room hints at having social commentary regarding race, religion, motherhood, or caring for the elderly. However, the film skirts around these subjects, mentioning their existence and then moving on inexplicably, making viewers wonder as to why the Eggers decided to include it in their film at all.

There’s a simple yet bothersome aspect of The Front Room that has been chasing at me since the credits rolled: its title. The “front room” has nothing to do with the film aside from it being a location within it; why not title the film: The Stepmother, The Mother In Law, or something akin, giving the film a distinctiveness and quirk that the filmmakers were clearly chasing? It would have made the film stand out more and telegraphed its plot in a few words.

The Front Room is saved from being forgettable horror film fodder by its cast, which, besides delivering performances belonging to two separate genres, are convincing. Norwood is appealing as the suspicious audience surrogate; however, Hunter is at the center of the show and commands her every scene. Albeit Hunter’s comedic twists cause her scenes to lose their tension, but her magnetism, whether throwing a glance or delivering a full speech, is astounding. The British character actress has been a standout in theater and bit roles within Hollywood, it’s a shame that this deserved bigger role is in such a substandard film.

In the end, The Front Room is a lackluster debut from the Eggers brothers, delivering a clashing and tonally indecisive flick that never fully makes viewers laugh or be scared. The talented cast salvages this film from becoming a truly unwatchable dud, but the bogged script and direction are insurmountable.

4.0/10