Jordan Peele, best known for his work alongside Keegan Michael Key on their sketch comedy show “Key and Peele,” has successfully thrown his hat into a new ring: the feature film.
This is not Peele’s first experience with cinema, as he and his television co-star wrote and starred in “Keanu,” the 2016 comedy about two friends posing as drug dealers to get back a stolen cat. The movie was fairly successful, and it garnered a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
But that first experience with a feature length film was not a huge stretch for Peele, with some critics citing that it would have fit in well on an episode of “Key and Peele.”
But his most recent attempt, the mystery thriller “Get Out,” is an undeniable success.
“Get Out,” written and directed by the aforementioned Peele, follows Chris, a young black man who meets his white girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Chris has apprehension about visiting her parents at their family estate, but Rose, his girlfriend assures him that it will be fine. Her father would have Obama for a third term if possible, she says.
Upon arrival at the estate, the family warmly welcomes Chris, and he initially takes a few awkward, slightly racist interactions with them as simple attempts to make him feel comfortable.
The family has two black helpers, Walter the groundskeeper and Georgina the housekeeper. While Chris initially sees it as a sigh of relief to be around two other people of color, something seems off about the two. Their overly polite, robotic mannerisms and speech make Chris uncomfortable.
This first portion of the movie is the slowest part but is nonetheless engaging. Peele does a good job of setting up the relationship between Chris and Rose’s family, as well as the relationship between Chris and his friend Rod, something which becomes increasingly important as the movie progresses.
As the plot moves forward, the pace picks up. The relationships on all fronts become more strained as more is revealed about the family, giving the audience the same growing feeling of uneasiness that Chris feels.
The more the story revealed, the more outlandish it seems. But the unfathomable actions of the white family allow Peele to weave in social commentary seamlessly. The plot is not incredibly complex, but it doesn’t need to be. The scares are not going to make you jump out of your seat, but that is not necessary either. Because underneath it all is the feeling, more terrifying than any jump scare, that this wild story could actually happen, or in fact has actually happened in a way many people try to forget.
“Get Out” is also made great by its leading man, Daniel Kaluuya, who truly makes you empathize with Chris. His subtle performance is incredibly powerful, and this movie would fail in the hands of a lesser actor.
One of the best things about his character, which can be attributed to Peele’s writing, is his intelligence and refreshing common sense. This is not a movie where you will be yelling at the screen “Do not walk down that dark hallway,” because Chris will have already turned on the light.
Another strong aspect of this movie is its comedy. There is some clear humor provided by Rod’s character, which does this movie a great service by providing comedic relief in intense situations. But a good portion of the humor is subtle and is brought about by the white upper class’s lack of understanding of the black experience. This is also humor that may not only go unnoticed by some but nonetheless is brilliant in its own right.
Thrilling, terrifying, humorous and thought provoking, “Get Out” is a movie that will stick with you for a while.
My rating: 8.7/10
