Lesbian Romance Amid the Dinosaur Spectacle

US summer blockbusters are usually very predictable: they present a big spectacle that, while watching, provides enough fun to be entertaining, yet remain so unsurprisingly conventional that you forget them the next day. “The End of Oak Street” from director David Robert Mitchell and producer J.J. Abrams initially comes across the same way—a hefty dose of Steven Spielberg, included in spirit but not in person, from whom the filmmakers clearly drew inspiration.

The setting is an idyllic American small town called Flowervale in the 1980s, with many families in sprawling single-family homes and plenty of teenage boys zipping around on bicycles, either in rivalry with other boys or chasing after girls. Centered on the Platt family, it becomes clear within minutes that parents Denise (Anne Hathaway) and Greg (Ewan McGregor) are locked in a marriage conflict that runs far deeper than what you’d expect in a summer blockbuster. Their teenagers Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery) are quick to notice and fear that a breakup could be looming.

A Few Million Years Back Through Time

That conflict is soon overtaken by something far more pressing: simply surviving. Because, by some unfortunate cosmic accident, the center of Flowervale is hurled back in time by millions of years overnight and finds itself surrounded by a prehistoric landscape with dinosaurs stalking the town’s streets in hungry silence. The Platts first try to flee by car, but they don’t get far—every road ends at chasms or behind impenetrable walls of plant life. Isolating themselves in the house isn’t a viable option either, since there’s no power or water, and food is dwindling fast.

In the midst of this survival ordeal comes a blockbuster-untypical turn: between Audrey and the neighbor girl Jeannette (Jordan Alexa Davis) blossoms a gentle romance, following a few subtle hints, such as Audrey’s tomboyish interest in astronomy. Jeannette’s parents have already run-ins with the dinosaurs, so she ends up taken in by the Platts—much to Brian’s delight, who had quietly harbored a crush on her from afar. As the story unfolds, Brian gradually realizes he doesn’t stand a chance with her. The delicate lesbian teen romance plays out in the background of the main narrative, appearing so natural and unforced that, as the film’s events unfold, it even earns a hopeful ending for the couple—something that this film’s universe seems to afford.

Blockbusters Have to Make Money

It’s hard to overstate how extraordinary a queer storyline like this is for a film in this genre. That’s partly because its production is extremely expensive. The creators therefore have to maximize box-office returns, and anything that feels pompous or unconventional can become a problem. With queer elements, there’s an added risk that queerphobic segments of the audience might skip the cinema entirely. “The End of Oak Street” has reportedly cost around $85 million to produce and has already earned just over $121 million at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

The third surprise is the death of a major character, something no one sees coming, a little like “Game of Thrones.” And given so much nonconformity, it’s almost surprising that the film still manages to deliver a satisfying ending for all the central characters, as the genre tends to demand, albeit through a few wild plot turns.

Discrete PR Handling as a Growth Area?
Audrey’s performer Maisy Stella is herself queer and is dating the much more well-known Bella Ramsey (“Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us”). In an interview, she explained that the script surprised her with the depth of the characters within the action setting—and that she had never before been offered a role like this.
Yet as notable and heartening as this small queer thread is, it is treated with notable discretion. People would have liked to hear from director-writer David Robert Mitchell about what moved him to include it—yet if he has spoken about it, it would require a deeper dive to find. In the many interviews that exist online, the focus is on a wide range of topics, never this one. Apart from a few responses from the (queer) audience that were often positive and surprised, it’s as if the media were instructed not to ask such questions in standard PR conversations.
It’s a bit disappointing, but perhaps that’s the price of weaving a queer storyline into a summer blockbuster: if no one notices in advance, no one will avoid seeing it for that reason. Maybe there’s a path here for broader queer representation in films of this scale?