US
Released March 22, 2019
A mother (Lupita Nyong’o) and a father (Winston Duke) take their kids (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway. Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family. After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.
CREDITS:
Directed: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, and more.
Rated: R
Runtime: 116 minutes
To read my review click below.
SPOILERS BELOW
I'm gonna start off by saying this, Us was a fantastic movie. Honestly, I came very so close to ending my review at this point; it was that good. Instead, let's get into the meat of it. Jordan Peele is known for his excellent use of metaphor and hidden imagery.
Peele's use of these techniques in "Get Out" set's the viewer up for constant scanning every frame for useful tidbits in the background. You'll find yourself looking for anything to grab on to just to keep afloat. This keeps you on edge the entire time -it's wonderful.
After watching both of Peele's films I still find myself in disbelief at how competent this man is at just swapping genres from his brand of wild comedy to his brand of smart-and-terrifying horror. "Get Out" was obviously a film about racism in our society but "Us" tackles another serious issue; Class. It's impressive the way it not only keeps you on the edge of your seat but it will get you thinking.
"Us" starts off in Santa Cruz with a little girl as she wanders from her father at a carnival. The father, who seems like a fantastic dad (sarcasm) is busy drinking, weirdly playing whack-a-mole and not watching his child. We follow the girl as she walks down the boardwalk and goes into a hall of mirrors. She immediately gets lost in the hall of mirrors until she sees a terrifying sight, something that haunts her for the rest of her life.
From here we fast forward to the present, as the little girl (we learn her name is Adelaide) is with her family and they are taking a vacation to their summer home in, get this, Santa Cruz. That night, the power goes out in their vacation home, and their son comes into his parents’ room nervously to tell them: There is a family standing in their driveway.
This is where the film really starts to take off, you can't see the family in the driveway because they stand in darkness. Gabe (Adelaide's husband) goes out into the drive to scare the family away, he fails miserably and the driveway family begins to break into the home. This was one of the most exciting moments of the film, you realize it isn't just any family....they're doppelgangers.
From here on out the film changes pace greatly, as our heroes attempt to escape their pursuers. The scariest thing about this film is most definitely done with eery imagery and the haunting score. While I normally despise jump scares, I do feel like this film was a wonderful example of how they can work and still have a good story. You do hear a monologue from the doppelganger of Adelaide as she tells us her story -which is mostly a warning on keeping the lower class down. This is the part of the movie that doesn't really work very well as it feels a bit rushed, I think Peele got ambitious but came up very short.
The acting is freaking incredible- I imagine actors would die to play both the hero and the villain in a film. Lupita Nyong’o totally steals the show, and that isn't even a jab at the other actors in the film. She is just that good in this film. If I were to give this movie a score then I would have to say 8/10; there were things that definitely could have been done better, but it was still a very strong film. While it was not as good as "Get Out", "Us" is very strong and it easily can stand on its own.
Comments