2017 | Dir. Jordan Peele | 103 Minutes
"All I know is sometimes, when there's too many white people, I get nervous, you know?"
Chris, an African American photographer, spends the weekend at the childhood home of his Caucasian girlfriend Rose to meet her allegedly socially progressive family and their overly-enthusiastic friends. The weekend takes a sinister turn when Chris discovers the unspeakable secret that links Rose's family with several missing local African American people. When Chris goes missing, his friend Rod, a TSA Agent, investigates.
With a clever screenplay and an inspired vision, comedian Jordan Peele's directorial film debut is equal parts uncomfortable and entertaining. The narrative is rich with layers of social commentary on the very real and immediately issues surrounding race and ethnicity in modern America. The most chilling concept presented in the picture is that its monsters do not simply aim to subjugate Chris. The rich old predominately white villains (there is one Japanese man in the crowd) fetishize Chris on a purely superficial level, attempt to suppress and hollow out his personhood, and subsequently fully implant themselves into his shell.
As the emotionally reserved Chris, Daniel Kaluuya is a captivating protagonist, delivering a quiet vulnerability that constantly builds as a formative childhood trauma is drawn to the surface against his will and as he discovers the horror behind his predicament. Allison Williams plays Rose to perfection as the duplicitous bait in her family's scheme. As Rose's surgeon father, Bradley Whitford exemplifies the unnerving shallow friendliness of any racist who has ever denied their prejudice. On the other end of the spectrum, Caleb Landry Jones embodies pure white trash as Rose's brother with a proclivity for random violent outbursts. The most terrifying character of the film may be Rose's psychiatrist mother portrayed by Catherine Keener with cold precision. A close second for scariest character would Georgina, the creepy maid with a disturbing secret, played by Betty Gabriel with delightful creepiness. It is impossible not to root for Lil Rel Howery's Rod, the ineffable and hilarious voice of reason, and possibly the only TSA agent to ever perform a heroic act in film.
Get Out is smart, gripping, socially-conscious horror with a good measure of humor in the mix. The twisted, deceptive, very white antagonists are truly terrifying. Jordan Peele immediately establishes himself as a filmmaker to follow closely.
FRAGMENTS
- According to Writer/Director Jordan Peele, the Sunken Place represents the marginalization of minorities in America as "No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us."
- In the original intended ending of film, Chris incarcerated by law enforcement for killing Rose and her family, but Writer/Director Jordan Peele decided to revise the ending in light of several unjust police shootings of black people that occurred as production for the film was underway
- This film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the category of Musical or Comedy while it is undeniably NOT a musical or comedy
- Bradley Whitford appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and The Post
- Caleb Landry Jones appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Daniel Kaluuya (W'Kabi in Black Panther)
