Nope: Jordan Peele and the necessity of challenge

Jordan Peele is a fascinating film maker, there really is not anyone like him in the industry now. His films fall within the horror and thriller genres, but carve their own lane, very much standing apart from their contemporaries. When Peele releases another film, I am immediately interested. This was the case with his latest effort, Nope. I thought it was a modern classic of the alien, sci-fi/horror genre, and a film I would highly recommend watching it. I could write endlessly about the film, I loved it. However, to avoid spoilers as well as speaking about Nope, I am going to discuss Peele’s other efforts, Get Out and Us. If you gave not seen Nope, or any of his films, get yourself to the cinema as soon as you can, you will not regret it.

I first came across Jordan Peele in the sketch comedy duo Key & Peele, the sketches were some of the best on TV and regular viewing for me in my teenage years. A while later, I had heard he had created a film, a horror film no less. This piqued my interest, and I am so glad it did. Get Out was a breath of fresh air to the horror genre, particularly from Blumhouse. Blumhouse, as a rule, tended to make cheap, easily marketable horror films that were generally awful. Yet, here they were (or should I say here Peele was with Blumhouse funding) with a smart, genuinely unnerving film that also works as a legitimately scary viewing experience. The general plot is that Chris, a black man, visits his girlfriend’s white family for the first time. Chris’s girlfriend’s family are portrayed as ignorant and out of touch with society and this is where Peele flips the dynamic. Often subtle racism is played for laughs at the ignorant characters expense, to make them look stupid. Jordan Peele takes this subtle racism and dials it up, bring out the fear of being in a situation where you are made to feel like you do not belong or are not welcome and relating these feelings to the viewer through the film’s events. He plays on real life feelings, and it is a great teachable moment on how racist ignorance and what are perceived as small acts are much more consequential than you may think. On top of this important message, the film is a fantastic visual experience on its own and really cemented Peele as one of the most promising, current film makers in my eyes.

When I heard that Peele was making another film, I was very excited; I could not wait to see what he had come up with next. The trailers for Us pulled me in and it was one of my most anticipated watches of 2019. However, I as incredibly disappointed by US. I wanted to like it so badly, yet it was such a downright disappointing watch. I predicted the twist from the first scene, so the shock factor was removed, I thought the story was ridiculous and not particularly interesting and the acting felt forced and overacted a lot of the times. To me, t felt that Peele was trying to do too much to try and surpass Get Out, and that mentality led to a film that was certainly grander in scale, but one that paled in comparison to Get Out. The feelings I had during Get Out and the as I digested the message have stuck with me till this day. Us on the other hand was a forgettable and disappointing effort.

This leads us perfectly in to Nope. Going into this film, I was split on Peele. Whilst I commended his risk taking and visions of grandeur, I was unsure of whether I was going to have an enjoyable viewing experience. Peele is clearly a talented movie maker, but I was unsure if he could consistently apply his abilities. I am glad to inform you that Peele more than met my expectations for this film. Nope is an incredible experience that might go down as my favourite offering from him.

To avoid spoilers, I will not go too deep into the plot of the film as I recommend you go watch it yourself. The synopsis of the film is that two siblings run a horse ranch in California for the use of horses in movies when they realise the presence of a UFO in the skies above. They then try to get objective proof of the alien presence no matter the cost. This desperation and that of others in the film transmit a message of exploitation and animal abuse but also of how sensational people are in the face of horrors. I will stop here to prevent myself diving in too deep and spoiling things, but the message and execution of the message is done to perfection.

The acting in this picture really helps elevate the viewing experience. Daniel Kaluuya is one of the best actors out now and is a fantastic lead. He conveys so much emotion with small gestures and very little words. A lot of the time it is just him in a lengthy scene, yet he manages to capture the audience’s attention the whole time. Keke Palmer is also an incredible addition to this film. Her and Daniel have wonderful sibling chemistry and her infectious energy plays perfectly off of Daniel’s more quiet and reserved character. Her performance is so fun and always elevates the scene without stealing the attention from the plot.

Adding the cinematography of Hoyte van Hoytema was a genius decision; this film looks stunning. There are so many striking shots that are truly breath taking and have stuck long in my memory. It is all very well having a compelling story, but it needs to be visually engaging as well. Nope hits both aspects and sticks both landings. The feeling of dread I got from the direction and the visual shots both complementing each other made this one of the most purposefully uncomfortable cinema experiences in all the right ways. There is a fun twist with the alien life that I thought was very clever and helped reinvent a tired and formulaic genre.

For me, this is a return to form for Jordan Peele, a film with a fantastic message that both unnerved me and challenged me. It is a work of art visually and one of the best suspense/horror films I have seen in a long time. Peele’s commitment to pushing the boundaries and limitations of the genre should be encouraged and if it results in a few missed opportunities then so be it, because when he gets it right, he really produces movie magic.