Get Out (2017) – Jordan
Peele’s directorial film debut has a much-hyped 99% on Rotten Tomatoes (you
guessed it, Armond White is one of the naysayers), and while I have my own
problems with that site’s aggregate approach to film ranking, in this instance
I can only say, “I’m with them.” Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris, a man visiting
his girlfriend Rose (Alison Williams) and her parents (Bradley Whitford,
Catherine Keener), when he discovers that the family’s black servants are
acting strangely. Peele’s script manages to generate empathy for Chris and his
mindset, and Kaluuya gives a first-rate performance in communicating all the
unease, fear, and hesitation that Chris feels in this strange place. It’s not a
musical or a comedy, though it is thickly satirical; without spoiling anything,
the film leans into some strange plot elements that regardless manage to align
with the story’s thematic concerns. I’m impressed that Peele has created a film
that is very much of its moment but is also a highly successful genre outing in
its own respect. My cynical hackles had been raised purely by the overwhelming
number of people who said Get Out was
one of the best movies of the year (last time I heard that claim, it was Mad Max: Fury Road, and we all remember
how that turned out). But I found myself hypnotized by the film, unnerved in
all the right places, and surprised that – in a world where we’re told that
cultural divides are too deep and unbridgeable – a first-time writer/director effortlessly
took me into Chris’s head and told a parable about how painful, violent, and
condescending even the best intentions can be. Peele has said he’s mulling a
sequel, and I have no idea how that’d play out, but I’ll be right there for it;
I can only hope, however, that Lil Rel Howery’s TSA agent Rod can somehow team
up with Michael Peña’s Luis from Ant-Man
in a race to see who can be the more charming and helpful.That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment