Major spoilers ahead for The Front Room. You’ve been warned.
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Many of us know the rollercoaster of emotions that go along with taking care of a sick and/or elderly family member. We know that remembering back on it afterward can be uncomfortable, almost like we’ve been through a war. Many of us also know the rollercoaster of emotions that go along with having a baby, especially the first one. We know that it’s also something that’s not always pleasant to remember. Now imagine both of those experiences combined, and you’ve got the setup for The Front Room.
The Front Room
The story centers on Belinda (Brandy Norwood), a beautiful and talented anthropology professor. Her specialty is teaching about the divine feminine and/or goddess feminism. While she enthusiastically lectures her class, her students look like they could really care less and are just there for the credits.
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Belinda also suffers from being perpetually undervalued as a professor. She becomes a pest at the college president’s office, constantly coming up against his stone wall of an administrative assistant and her passive-aggressive politeness. Belinda more than deserves tenure, but since the prez keeps avoiding her, she knows she’ll never get it. So she quits.
Which is not a great thing, given that her husband Norman’s (Andrew Burnap) job as an overworked public defender isn’t exactly making them rich. Plus, they just bought a house. And if that wasn’t enough, they’re expecting their first baby in the coming weeks. But they love each other, so they trust they’ll work it out.
A Passing
And as if by magic (or in this case, perhaps divine intervention), Norman suddenly gets a call letting him know his sickly father has just died. He’s heartbroken but doesn’t want to have to deal with his stepmother, Solange (Andor’s Kathryn Hunter). He’s hesitant about even going to the funeral, knowing he’ll see her.
He tells Belinda briefly about how Solange is a heavily evangelical Christian – including speaking in tongues and faith healing and all that. He had a pretty miserable childhood under her thumb. But Belinda says they should go anyway.
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After the funeral, the Pastor (Neal Huff) brings Norman and Belinda to meet Solange. She makes a dramatic first appearance, completely covered in a shroud and flanked by a couple of fellow evangelicals. Solange gets up, propped up by her dual canes, which smash into the ground with every step she takes like a heavy drum. Belinda removes her veil and underneath is what appears to be just a nice little old lady.
An Exchange
Solange makes the couple an offer. In exchange for taking her in and caring for her in what she claims to be her last days, she’ll make them the sole beneficiaries of her estate and help them pay for things they need. At first, Norman’s like, no way. But Belinda feels the draw of guilt and compassion and says it probably won’t be so bad. Besides, they really do need the financial help.
So Solange moves in, and right off the bat, she changes things. She wants the downstairs front room as her room, even though it’s been made up for the baby. She claims the room by sitting in the special heirloom chair that belonged to Norman’s real mom.
At dinner, she insists they say grace and then proceeds to make fun of the name they’ve chosen for the baby. Belinda wants to name the baby girl “Fern,” but Solange just laughs at that, saying, “What, you got a plant growing in there?” Nope, the baby must have a family name. Norman’s dad’s name was Lawrence, so naming the baby Laurie would be a much better idea, now, wouldn’t it?
Lots of Changes
At first, Belinda and Norman are like, what the hell? But then guilt rears its ugly head again, and eventually, they decide to change the name. And that’s not all Solange changes. She insists on buying all new furniture, which ends up making the house look like it’s stuck in the 19th century. She removes all their hanging pictures – and especially Belinda’s goddess statues – and replaces them with Christian paintings.
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Norman’s almost always gone, busy with work, so it’s up to Belinda to take care of Solange most of the time. Things get even more tense when Solange reveals her incontinence – something she didn’t want Norman to know. But it’s impossible to hide it once she starts leaving what she calls “M-E-double-S, mess”-es everywhere.
And once the baby arrives, the whole incontinence thing becomes an even bigger issue, which the Eggers did a terrific job of hammering home. There’s a darkly hilarious montage of poop, pee and puke – crying and screaming from both Solange (who uses a whistle to call Belinda – or “Belinder,“ as she prefers to say) and the baby – intercut with Belinda’s exhaustion and shredded nerves.
Battle of Wits
Solange and Belinda’s battle of wits ratchets up even more when Belinda discovers a certificate Solange received from the Daughters of the Confederacy. When confronted at dinner, Solange proudly affirms it. She also had a cousin in the Klan and is just as racist now as she was then.
A furious Belinda also knows that Solange plays up her feebleness and the incontinence – not to mention her constant reminders about her paying for everything – as a way to drive a wedge between herself and Norman.
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Then the war between the women escalates to the point where Solange starts hurting herself and the baby, making it look like Belinda did it. Belinda’s furious of course, not only because of that, but also because she feels like Solange is using her alleged “power of the Holy Spirit” to cause her to have terrible dreams and hallucinations.
Solange Has to Go
Finally, at the end of their rope, Belinda convinces Norman that she has to go. And as they lie awake in bed, all they hear is Solange yelling over and over, “Why can’t I die?” Next thing we know, we see a body being cremated and that night, Belinda dumps the chair, all the paintings and Solange’s ashes outside and runs them over with the car.
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But here’s where it gets a bit murky, because then we see the setup again, and Belinda doesn’t run them over. Then, we see Belinda and Norman in a new house, and baby Laurie’s about a year old.
Belinda’s getting ready for an interview at a new school where she’ll be a full professor. On the way to the interview, she sings the Edith Piaf song, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” at the top of her lungs (a song that Hollywood uses way too often, but in this case, it is fitting).
Finally, we see Solange in bed, wailing “Why can’t I die?” – right before Belinda smothers her with a pillow. Did Belinda really kill her? That’s left up to us to decide.
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Macabre Weirdness
A24 produces flicks that have become synonymous with the term “elevated horror,” a sort of pretentious term created just for them. But I think a better way to describe their stuff would be to say it’s what you get when you toss an indie look and vibe into a blender with a whole lotta macabre weirdness. And no one does that macabre weirdness quite as well as the Eggers. Writer/directors Sam and Max are brothers to Robert, whose unique projects like The Witch and The Lighthouse helped A24 stand out as something special in the vast field of horror.
But even though The Front Room is technically classified as horror and definitely fits within the confines of elevated horror, that’s not what it feels like. It feels more like the darkest of dark comedies. Anyone who’s had to be a caretaker to a dying loved one and watches this flick will definitely have some unpleasant flashbacks. Perhaps enough that they can’t even watch the whole thing because it’s so uncomfortable.
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The same goes for anyone who’s been a parent to a newborn. I felt pretty severe sympathy pains for Belinda’s character, who has the same problems I had with my kid in those first few months. Brandy portrays that unique and horrible kind of burnout well, even as the Eggers play it up as more comedic than horrific (especially with that brilliant montage). But I guess, depending on how hard it hits you, you may also find it too uncomfortable to be watchable.
The Performances
I’ve read other reviews about this flick that aren’t terribly glowing, most finding fault with how the characters are portrayed and how they’re not sympathetic enough. But I found Brandy and Andrew Burnap’s performances to be exactly what they needed to be. They’re just a normal couple, people I could identify with. Overworked, underpaid, exhausted and just trying to make the best of things. I could understand Belinda’s professional frustrations and the conflict, guilt and anger that comes from dealing with family.
And Kathryn Hunter absolutely killed it with her portrayal of Solange. Some might call it scenery chewing, but I thought it was awesome. Balancing Solange’s Southern flamboyance with her religious fervor and her ravenous desire to control everything and everyone isn’t an easy feat. But Hunter pulls it off, making Solange someone you love to hate.
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So while I wouldn’t call The Front Room a great horror flick, I would definitely call it a terrific dark comedy. It won’t be something you’ll just throw on when you feel like watching something, but it is worth watching.
Directed by: Max Eggers, Sam Eggers
Written by: Max Eggers, Sam Eggers, Susan Hill (original short story)
Release date: September 6, 2024
Rating: R
Run time: 1hr, 34min
Distributor: A24
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