A24 loves to make a weird movie, so we were excited to be invited to a Wednesday night screening of The Front Room last week (the theater was packed!). I planned on seeing the film opening weekend because Brandy ‘The Boy is Mine’ Norwood is one of the leads. Unfortunately, I could not go into the movie completely blind. I had caught trailer snippets before other screenings and on social media. So, I already knew Brandy was playing the role of a pregnant woman whose stepmother-in-law moved in with her. I knew the stepmother-in-law was an old white woman who may have gone to segregated schools as a child. That’s a horror story in itself. I deduced that the pregnancy and baby would be involved. The music used in the trailers made the movie sound far more sinister than it was.
Although to be fair, I had my eyes closed most of the time I caught the trailer. I had conjured up an idea of a movie that did not fit what I saw. That’s on me, not the movie. However, I’m sure this was not marketed as a comedy. There wasn’t a single joke in any of the trailers I saw (heard). The Front Room is labeled as psychological horror, but it felt much more like a black comedy. The audience seemed to agree, with plenty of bouts of laughter in unison. I was entertained, but overall this movie was lukewarm.
What Goes On In That Room?
The Front Room follows Belinda (Brandy Norwood) and Norman (Andrew Burnap) as they navigate grieving their firstborn child while preparing for their second baby. In addition, Belinda is frustrated with her job (definitely racism) and eventually quits. With new financial strain, it’s easy to see why the couple took Solange’s offer to live with them in exchange for financial support. Based on the trailer, I assumed Solange’s stay would be more deadly: it was mostly inconvenient. There does seem to be magic or witchcraft at play, but the stakes are low, so I wasn’t deeply invested. Solange is clearly in a religious cult, and I wanted more of their involvement.
Much of the conflict between Belinda and Solange boiled down to incontinence and microaggressions. I often (and the audience) found humor in Belinda’s reaction to Solange’s antics. I was frustrated with Norman’s character and the lack of support for his wife (Divorce him!). After 50 minutes, I began looking at my watch because the microaggressions and soiled underwear became old. When I thought the mischief would escalate, it simply didn’t. This made the third act feel like a slow crawl. I was partially satisfied with the good-for-her ending. However, it wasn’t enough to jumpstart the film, which had been decelerating for the past 40 minutes.
Was It A Complete Mess?
The performances and production value were positive experiences. I want Brandy to play more roles in the genre. The story could have been a little more hardcore. If a script is going to make me sit through racist microaggressions, I’d like the payoff or the horror to be worth it. It’s fine as a black comedy, but the trailer sold viewers a different film tonally. I think misdirection and vagueness should be used in trailers, but they should still capture the film’s spirit.
The Front Room is currently in theaters.
