This review was published simultaneously with https://www.leftbrain.uk/
Has a writer, director and producer ever had more balls in naming their film than Jordan Peele? I mean the bad reviews write themselves, fortunately such hack review naming is not gonna be an easy task here, after all once again Peele has crafted an elegant, heady in themes, terrifying at moments and deeply suspenseful sci-fi horror ride that is singular, a little messy, but overly very entertaining. And of course like all his films which he so (hopefully) knowingly refers to as something more society focussed than horror or sci-fi; very, very thought provoking and something that instils wonder and thought for days and days afterward
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So I have a random rule that’s mostly just for my own wariness, it’s a stupid little rule of three sort of thing. After Us I had people come to me saying Peele was the very best in horror right now, just like Damian Chazelle following his first two major films, just like so many other up and coming auteurs. Just like Robert Eggers. Each time I would warily say, “wait till the rule of three”. However it is such a great joy that these auteurs have repeatedly now pulled it off and delivered their brilliant third films. Only Ari Aster and Greta Gerwig in my mind remain this year to see if they can pull off the triple bill. The long and short of what I’m trying to get at is that sometimes we idolise these auteurs as auteurs whilst they are still in my eyes ‘brilliant debut directors’, it’s a scientific principle at the end of the day – two is a coincidence, three is a pattern, and thankfully with Nope, Peele has more than made a pattern. Working with Hoyte van Hoytema as his cinematographer, Nope is a film working on a far larger visual canvas than this previous two films, another cause for possible worry, however not only is this Peele’s best looking film to date, but also one his most visually spectacular, all most certainly by design. For this is a film about above all else spectacle, and entertainment, at all costs. I’ll keep the plot mostly under wraps afterall one of the great joys of this film was that I knew so very little heading into it. The film takes joyous tangents and narrative shifts that constantly keep an audience guessing, which is just so thrilling and hard to find in the current film landscape. Can I lie and say that the film maintained the enthusiasm I had for it at certain points, particularly enthusiasm engaged around these ‘tangents’? No, I will not, however this film’s strengths are so fervent and so entirely sensational that its negatives really are very few and far between. Again, not unlike any film of it’s nature with big shifts, I have no doubt second and third watches now that I know the overall path of the film will flow easier and be less… yes, at times, a touch disappointing. However I also fear for one thing, I watched this in a beautiful big screen and this really is one of the better big screen experiences I’ve had in some time, however my least favourite aspects of the film were perhaps these final big screen sequences (only because my love for some of the earlier stuff was so great, not because these sequences were not truly great in their own right). So for as much as I may enjoy the ride more due to the fact I know where it’s going on a re-watch, I will undoubtedly enjoy the film less so on a small screen, due to the simple fact of just that, it is a smaller screen.
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A sign of a
great director is of course repeated great performances, over the course of
three films now Peele has garnered not only some of the great ensembles of
actors all working very well, but particularly with Lupita N’yongo in Us, just one of the single great
performances of this decade. This film is no different, again we have a
spectacular ensemble that thrills at every turn and balances with great
deftness the wonderful balance of comedy and drama that Peele’s films so
joyously combine. Daniel Kaluya working once more with Peele, delivers a wholly
different turn from his work in Get Out, and
marks the continuation of an actor-director relationship that excites me very
much so. Keke Palmer is the films co-lead, as Kaluya’s sister, whose arc is one
more focussed in the narrative than Kaluya and so her chance for more drama is
more frequent and she excels in these cases at every turn. However Palmer’s
best attribute in the film is undeniably her overwhelming energy and joy and
spirit that gives the film the edge it needs to ride the tones it does so
effectively. Both Keith David and Michael Wincott, as somewhat older statesmen
genre figures in the cast deliver in their moments so brilliantly that there
shadow and effect can be felt throughout the rest of the film, two brilliant
examples of smaller roles not exactly stealing the show, but certainly leading
an audience to long for more. However without a shadow of a doubt my favourite
performance in the film and one of my favourite performances of the year so far
was that of Stephen Yeun, whose balance of eccentricity, under-playing,
performance and complexities of emotions led to by far my favourite parts of
the film and as aforementioned just plainly one of the my favourite turns of
the year so far.
A truly excellent 9/10 that grows and grows for me in estimation as each moment goes by. Although one can easily point towards Get Out being Peele’s best film just pound for pound, I have to say that I preferred Us and even more so now I feel I prefer Nope too. These bigger, broader and more conceptual films do have the leeway that the narratives become messier and perhaps even overlong, however for me this is more than an easy give and take when it comes to the completely sublime grand movie-making and brilliantly fanciful ideas driven screenplays we are receiving. I know there’s been a lot of snobbery from critics commenting on those people claiming Peele as the best horror director in history, as if he’s the only one who has ever made three great films back and to back – however, although this is of course untrue, the fact still remains that perhaps there is no filmmaker currently working in the worlds of genre fiction that has made three more instantly iconic and instantly memorable films of this calibre. Long may it continue, please Mr Peele.
P.S. The middle 20 minute ‘Gordy’ sequence from the flashback to the TV set into the star lasso experience may very well be my favourite 20 minutes of film this year so far. I am amazed that there is a divide between people who think this is a bizarre and pointless short film that derails this narrative. Not only is this core, but this is by far the single best pair of sequences Peele has made thus far in his career, and they come quite literally back to back. I can’t deny that on a first watch, I was spoiled and the rest of the film did feel like a slight dip.
- - Thomas Carruthers
This review was published simultaneously with https://www.leftbrain.uk/
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