You’ll Say Yup To Nope’s Blend Of Comedy And Horror (Spoiler Free)
Jordan Peele has managed to use his platform to address social issues in myriad ways since his directorial debut with Get Out where he addressed cultural appropriation. He proved he wasn’t a one-trick pony with his follow-up film Us in which he addressed classism and privilege. He’s even used his success to promote other stories of a similar nature with his production company, such as the less successful Candyman reboot.
Nope is his latest allegorical horror film, so let’s see if can get three in a row, or if he actually strikes out.
After random objects falling from the sky result in the death of their father, ranch-owning siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) attempt to capture video evidence of an unidentified flying object with the help of tech salesman Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) and documentarian Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott).
Like many others, I had some very high expectations going into this one, and I think overall it was a solid film. Peele once again shows his writing chops by combining horror and comedy.
However, this time around he may have laid on the funny a bit too thick, but it’s not a dealbreaker in the slightest. In fact, given the film’s message it’s rather fitting — it’s a meta commentary on society’s obsession with fame seeking and voyeurism.
But don’t expect any kind of subtlety going into this one, in fact the various Easter eggs peppered throughout the film further convey this point articulately.
The film’s score gives a very ominous tone to the overall narrative, and even with the rare moments of tonal whiplash, I never felt like I was taken out of the experience.
Kaluuya has become one of my favorite actors in recent years, churning out some brilliant performances and this was absolutely no exception. His performance as the soft-spoken and emotionally numb OJ made him extremely relatable. I’m also impressed by his talent with accents. Many British actors struggle with American accents, but Kaluuya’s Texas drawl was convincing.
Palmer as his sister Emerald was hilarious; her mostly upbeat performance really sets the tone for the movie’s mostly comedic aspects. And I’m always happy to see Steven Yeun on the silver screen — his caricature of a rodeo star in Ricky “Jupe” Park was pretty funny. Perea and Wincott, who each had smaller parts, helped add to the movie’s charm.
The visuals were as solid as always, however the cloud creature gave me Fantastic Four: Rise of Silver Surfer vibes.
I’m so happy to finally have a Jordan Peele trilogy and this film didn’t disappoint. His work as a filmmaker and a screenwriter shows that he’s neither a one trick pony nor one to rest on his laurels.
And I can’t wait to see his next project.
I give Nope (Universal Pictures; R; 2hrs, 10mins) a 4 out of 5.
