At first glance, Flowervale Street looks like a movie about a perfectly normal family living in the suburbs.
Then things start getting weird.
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor lead David Robert Mitchell’s mysterious new sci-fi movie, arriving in theaters August 14. And while the studio has revealed some major details, much of the film’s story is still being kept deliberately under wraps.
That mystery may be exactly what makes Flowervale Street so interesting.
A Normal Family With a Very Unusual Problem
The movie follows the Harts, a suburban family living in what initially appears to be an idyllic neighborhood.
Hathaway plays Vicky Hart, while McGregor plays her husband, Don.
Their two children are played by Maisy Stella and Christian Convery.
But the family’s seemingly ordinary life begins to unravel when strange events start occurring around them.
The less audiences know about those events going into the theater, the better.
Director David Robert Mitchell, best known for It Follows and Under the Silver Lake, has built his reputation around turning familiar environments into something unsettling.
Flowervale Street appears to be doing exactly that.
Anne Hathaway Is Entering Very Strange Territory
Hathaway has moved between genres throughout her career, from The Devil Wears Prada and Les Misérables to Interstellar and The Idea of You.
Flowervale Street gives her another opportunity to explore something completely different.
The film reportedly takes place in the 1980s, giving the story a nostalgic suburban setting before introducing its much stranger elements.
That contrast is important.
The bright, familiar image of suburban America is often used in science-fiction and horror because it makes the extraordinary feel even more disturbing.
Everything looks safe. Until it isn’t.
The Director Is a Big Reason to Pay Attention
David Robert Mitchell isn’t a filmmaker who usually gives audiences straightforward genre stories.
His breakthrough came with It Follows, the 2014 horror movie that turned a simple supernatural premise into an unsettling exploration of fear and inevitability.
He followed it with Under the Silver Lake, a much stranger mystery starring Andrew Garfield.
Now he’s working with a significantly larger cast and studio budget.
That combination makes Flowervale Street one of the more intriguing original movies of the summer.
Don’t Expect a Straightforward Sci-Fi Movie
Warner Bros. has been careful about how much it reveals.
That’s probably intentional.
The movie’s trailers establish the suburban setting and hint at strange phenomena without completely explaining what’s happening.
That puts Flowervale Street in an interesting position.
It can be marketed as a big science-fiction movie, but viewers who enjoy Mitchell’s earlier work know they’re probably getting something more complicated.
The movie isn’t simply about whatever is happening in the sky or around the neighborhood.
It’s likely about how the characters react when the world they thought they understood suddenly stops making sense.
Why People Are Talking About It
Original movies are becoming increasingly difficult to launch as major theatrical events.
Franchises dominate the biggest release calendars, making a film like Flowervale Street unusual.
There is no existing cinematic universe.
No superhero character.
No decades-old franchise.
Instead, the selling points are the filmmaker, the cast and the mystery.
That’s a risky strategy.
It’s also refreshing.
If audiences respond, Flowervale Street could become one of those movies people discover through word of mouth rather than franchise loyalty.
Is Flowervale Street Worth Watching?
If you’re a fan of mysterious science fiction, the answer is probably yes.
The combination of Hathaway, McGregor and Mitchell gives the movie a strong foundation, while the decision to keep much of the story secret makes it one of the more intriguing theatrical releases this month.
And there’s another reason to pay attention.
The movie is original.
In a summer filled with established franchises and familiar characters, Flowervale Street is asking audiences to walk into a theater without knowing exactly what they’re going to get.
That gamble could pay off.
The Bottom Line
Flowervale Street may look like a suburban family drama at first.
It isn’t.
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor are stepping into a strange sci-fi mystery from the director of It Follows, and Warner Bros. is keeping the film’s biggest secrets close to the chest.
That makes the movie difficult to predict — which is exactly why it could be worth seeing.
Sometimes the best movie of the summer is the one nobody saw coming.