Review of The Oak Room
midlandsmovies • June 4, 2021
The Oak Room (2021) Dir. Cody Calahan
Bottoms up! An amalgamation of (possibly) tall tales told in taverns is the focus of new dark drama The Oak Room from Cody Calahan.
After an ambiguous opening, we are introduced to Steve (RJ Mitte) who returns to his hometown dive-bar in a snowy storm to face some past demons. The bartender, Paul (a gruff Peter Outerbridge) enlightens us to the fact that Steve missed his father’s funeral as well as owing a significant debt to Paul.
Steve strangely offers to pay his debt with a story and despite reservations, Paul humours the young man and our protagonist begins chronicling a series of bizarre incidents involving another bar down the road called The Oak Room.
We’ve all heard the boozy barfly spinning exaggerated and entertaining yarns but Steve’s calm demeanour has us immediately questioning how true the stories he weaves.
The unreliable narrator trope is standard crime fare but here the low-key set up (adapted from a very dialogue-driven stage play) helps the small nature of the film display a tone of inevitable imprisonment as each story illuminates the previous one in a Memento-style reverse timeline.
From a man with a bloodied hand rushing into The Oak Room at closing, to a hitchhiker being picked up by a hellish driver, the structure sees flashbacks within flashbacks and stories told within stories. One’s past, the role of father-figures, the nature of evil and even just drunken exploits are all explored in a set of enigmatic recollections.
The Oak Room chooses to make the most of its stage-play set-up by using its restricted resources to focus on the rising conflicts of character and dialogue. And the myriad of puzzles it provides keeps the intriguing mystery moving forward as each account builds upon another.
In the negative column is a slightly sparse narrative and although there is a hint of a mythic force at play, at times the film feels like it’s missing a few footsteps in the snow to help us make sense of the seemingly random sequences.
However, my own recollection of the various folktales similarly told by Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino in Desperado (1995) made clear the film could also have done with a shot of humour to add more light and shade.
As it is, these retellings are filled with sordid but delightfully dark details but meanders at times between the more dramatic beats as we attempt to dissect what is fact or fiction.
Despite the film being restricted by a number of constraints, there’s some great performances by the storytellers themselves with Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte being especially convincing. But with enough secrets to uncover, indie film fans should pull up a stool and sit squarely at the end of the bar to pay close attention to director Cody Calahan who has plenty to say with this formidable feature.
★★★★
Michael Sales
The Oak Room is out in the UK home release on 14th June 2021
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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