The Oak Room

I saw The Oak Room recently at a local film festival and am very pleased I had the opportunity. This film is set in a bar at closing time during a snow storm. One character tells the other a story, and we go from there. Now whilst some of the acting is a little over the top or unconvincing in places, on the whole this was very well done. The setting of the bar and the snowstorm was done so well that despite being indoors and properly dressed for October, I was cold! The film made me feel cold! The tension was built over the course of the film, with a twist that I wasn't fully expecting. I knocked a couple of stars off as despite fully understanding the plot and twist, things were introduced towards the very end that weren't given proper context. It didn't ruin the film at all, it just felt like a few loose ends. Overall I really enjoyed The Oak Room.

This was a great story idea. It was somewhat original, the actors were pretty good. I think if they had a better writer and director, this could have been a worthy 9 or 10 for sure. I think it is worth the watch, but ONLY if you find yourself home on a Friday night, nothing going on and you are just sitting at home on the couch wondering what you could watch. Then give it a try. This movie could have been great, instead it kind of falls to being fair. Now if I would have spent good money to see this at the movie theater, I would have been a little upset, but still would have given the same review.

The Oak Room is a good movie with a creepy feel. It's all about the mystery and the mood - and he dialog. It all starts with a man entering a remote bar in a snow storm as it's closing for the evening. The man is known to the bartender, and the meeting is the start of an eerie evening, with a story told the very same way this movie starts. Who are these men, how are they interconnected?

Well played, and with good tension, this movie unfolds like a theatrical chamber play where it lies in the dialog.

A very clever and carefully-crafted film.

Great atmosphere and, despite being mostly one to one story-telling, it keeps your interest until the end.

Terrific acting from a very small cast, especially RJ Mitte and Ari Millen.

The soundtrack is very good and compliments the mood of the film well.

The script is great, although the main characters sometimes get too repetitive, as though the writers didn't fully trust the audience to get the point.

At one point, it was a story within a story and started to have an Inception feel.

Worth watching if you like your brain to be engaged during a movie.

I always find films based on plays interesting to watch. Theoretically, having a story that is very contained in its settings should hamper a film. However I often find that because the film has to rely on terrific dialogue they can often be some of the best films going around. I wouldn't say 'The Oak Room' is one of the best films going around mind you, but it certainly had some good stuff going for it.

The film is both simple and complicated at the same time. On the surface it can come across very simply, but under the water everything is paddling mighty fast. This becomes very apparent at the end. The film is going to leave some very confused. I had to go and read an explanation about the film. Luckily I found a very well written one which explained everything in heavy detail. So I know that the film does make sense, but how many people are going to pick up all those things on a first watch? Probably not enough.

I love a film that respects its audience though and 'The Oak Room' clearly does. 7/10.