MOVIE REVIEW – Don’t look up! – is the title of this other film, the third film by Jordan Peele, which turns the sky into a place of endless terror. Not is an actual sci-fi/horror film about a grieving brother and sister teaming up to gather evidence of what they believe is a UFO attacking from the sky, at once thrillingly ambitious and at times genuinely terrifying; its only flaw is that the final showdown doesn’t match the film’s dazzling earlier scenes. In Nope, the Oscar-winning writer-director boldly stretches the canvas, evoking a Spielbergian popcorn flick without sacrificing his previous work’s emotional and thematic heft.

 

 

Coming to Hungary on 18 August (tomorrow), No could be an attractive choice for both mainstream and thought-provoking filmgoers, thanks to Peele, who has already proven himself as the director behind Get Out and Us and is joined by a cast that includes Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun (who made his name with his role as Glenn in The Walking Dead). Universal has wisely kept the film’s mystery in the marketing (although the UFO theme is dropped in the trailers), which only adds to the audience’s anticipation.

 

 

The quiet guy, his immature sister and the bloody, crazed chimp

 

Kaluuya plays OJ, a soft-spoken, introverted African-American young man who owns a struggling horse ranch once owned by his loving father (Keith David), who supplied animals for film and television productions throughout Southern California. Six months have passed since his father’s mysterious death – hit by a small object that fell from the sky – and OJ is trying to keep the family business alive with the help of his immature little sister Emerald (Keke Palmer). One night, however, they think they see a flying saucer; if they can get photographic evidence, they can sell the footage and save the farm.

Peele builds up the central conflict and introduces his cast very slowly and gradually while hinting at the scares to come. Nope opens with a gruesome image of a bloody chimpanzee staring at us randomly. Although it will tie in oddly with the story, it immediately sets the film’s particularly creepy, unique mood.

Peele, as usual, sprinkles the horror story with well-timed black humour while also cleverly building an atmosphere of paranoia as the sci-fi story gradually gains in prominence. We are soon introduced to Jupe (Yeun), a former child star who now runs a down-and-dirty tourist attraction entertainment spot called “Gold Rush” in the middle of the desert near OJ’s ranch, and Angel (Brandon Perea), an intelligent tech geek who works in an electronics supermarket. These two young men soon become embroiled in OJ and Emerald’s mission to uncover an unknown threat from the sky.

 

 

Less pronounced social criticism

 

The biting social critiques that were so characteristic of Get Out and What are Not So In Nope are not as strong, although Peele does sink his teeth into Hollywood’s erasure of early black artists here – not to mention the way American society tends to glorify the Old West, especially in Hollywood westerns. But that implicit idealism is now eclipsed as OJ and Emerald, who have unresolved issues stirred up by their father’s death, come to terms with the frightening truth they uncover. With the help of Hoyte Van Hoytema’s sumptuous 65mm photography, Peele presents a series of stunning scenes that illustrate his increasing mastery of the cinema visual world. Even if some viewers will guess where Peele is going, he portrays the journey suitably astonishingly and funny.

Kaluuya, reunited with the director of Get Out, plays a grieving man struggling to maintain the family business inherited from his grandfather. OJ and Emerald are a study in contrasts – the introverted son is reserved and thoughtful, the extroverted daughter brash and emotional – and Kaluuya and Palmer convey the siblings’ fragile relationship well, especially Emerald’s long-held resentment that he has never been as close to their father as his older brother. OJ doesn’t talk much, but when he does, it’s often in a tired voice, and the Oscar-winning actor delivers Peele’s one-liners with a casual verve.

These intimate character details become even more important as what is really going on is revealed. After coyly zigzagging through possible explanations for the strange celestial object, Peele finally shows his hand in two exceptionally well-calibrated horror sequences. Spoiler would be more to say, but simply put, there are moments in the film that make Nope worth watching, not just on the big screen but with as large a crowd as possible.

 

 

Disappointing in the end, but overall a big “Yep”

 

For all of Nope’s bold narrative and directorial moves – including a critical flashback to the late nineties – Peele can’t entirely avoid disappointing towards the end of the film. As cleverly as he has constructed and explored Nope, he fails to deliver a finale that surpasses (and ties together) all that has gone before. This is the one scene in which Peele doesn’t seem entirely confident, but even so, the final scene is intelligent and somewhat witty.

Contrary to the film’s title, Jordan Peele’s latest is a resounding ‘Yes’. His trademark sarcastic, subtly black humour, the creepy sci-fi horror elements, which are a bit slow at first but gradually and cleverly built up, and the director’s artistic vision – coupled with some genuinely spectacular cinematic elements – are all strong points despite the somewhat disappointing ending.

-BadSector-