Us Review
- Half Glass Guy
- Mar 23, 2019
- 4 min read
Adelaide Wilson: “They look exactly like us. They think like us. They know where we are. We need to move and keep moving. They won’t stop until they kill us. Or we kill them.”
Jordan Peele is starting to become the real deal. “Us” is his sophomore attempt in the writing and directing chair, coming off his major success “Get Out”. Peele became a household name with “Get Out” and even went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film as well. He became an Oscar winner after his first feature! When “Us” was announced and he gave little details about it moving forward, I knew he was onto something even bigger than “Get Out”. He had a bigger budget and even more creative freedom with “Us”. After seeing “Us”, I firmly believe that Jordan Peele will be this generations Kubrick or even Rod Sterling, potentially just the new master of suspense. Peele has created a fresh and innovative piece of cinema that focuses on doppelgangers and conspiracy ideas that forever haunt us as humans. Peele believes that we are our own worst enemy, and “Us” paints that idea perfectly and artistically.
“Us” is about Adelaide (aka Lupita Nyong’o) and her family, Gabe (aka Winston Duke), Zora (aka Shahadi Joseph) and Jason (aka Evan Alex), who want to get away and have a good summer vacation. They go to their vacation home and soon realize that there is something going on. Before they know it, a family that looks exactly like them stands outside their house and begins to terrorize the Wilson family. And that is honestly all one needs to know about “Us”. Seeing this film with a fresh pair of eyes and no information on how the film goes from there is exactly one should do.
There is a lot to talk about with “Us” and where I would like to start is the acting. Everyone in this film did an immaculate job of not only playing their characters, but then playing another version of that character that is trying to kill their doppelganger. I think my two favorites were Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong’o. Duke offers some lighted charm to the overall feel of the film, playing the “dad” role and creating comedy through that character. Plus, Duke presents a likeable and charismatic individual in a father who just wants to have a good time and thinks straightforward. However, Nyong’o absolutely nails her performance to a point. She does an incredible job of showing her character and her doppelganger in conflicting situations. This is one of the best horror-actress-performances I have seen, much like last year’s Toni Collette in “Hereditary”. One of my favorite scenes that involves Nyong’o is her first interaction with the doppelganger because she had to be in and out of both characters, and to capture the emotions that are displayed in that scene alone is extraordinary.
From a writing and directing perspective, Jordan Peele absolutely shows significant confidence in how he makes films. The way he can go off of one idea and create a story (and film) with just pure imagination is just exciting to witness. Peele is just taking off and it is abundant to have a filmmaker who cares about the horror genre and is already making his mark on it. “Us” shows how a writer can expand on one idea to the fullest extent. Some may even challenge this film for being in and over its head, but Peele knew what he was doing. He made a film that he would enjoy watching from an entertaining perspective and a suspenseful perspective. He took much inspiration from past horror films that included African Americans, like “Night of the Living Dead” or “Candyman”. Peele knows how to write freely and cleverly, creating intense scenes in perfect detail. Then from a directing perspective, he knows and carefully creates suspense with the camera and setting. And one thing that I truly admire about Peele is how he can create a sense of gratitude towards characters with little information. I cared about the family that was being terrorized and these characters were smart on how they approached the situation. It was not dumbed down.
Obviously there are expectations now coming from “Get Out” and now “Us” but I think he deserves those expectations in a good way. He has earned his spot and continues to flourish in Hollywood and “Us” is clearly another milestone on the resume for Peele. Without spoiling the film, I believe Peele just has a pure love of cinema and horror as a genre. He takes so much care with each project he does, which elevates the project even higher.
Peele raises some thought-provoking ideas in “Us”. There are ideas about being your own worst enemy, about conspiracies of the world and America, about ideas of cloning or just mirror images, there are many ideas packed into this monster that it is hard to discuss in one writing. Plus, Peele has created another film that definitively has a statement attached. He is saying a lot about the world and the United States as a whole. There is a sense of thinking about the “unthinkable” ideas or “Twilight Zone” ideas, which this film was based on an episode in that show. “Us” dives into extreme viewpoints and ideas that I cannot discuss without spoiling. And the way Peele ends the film is incredibly gutsy and ambitious, one that will be debated in time.
I believe “Us” is another homerun for Peele. A word I do not normally use for describing film, but this film is surely remarkable. Peele is a genius and everything that he does from here on out, there should be an expectation of high quality energy that audiences will eat up. “Us” displays thoughts about family, doppelgangers, conspiracy’s, etc. Along with those ideas are some powerful performances and strong direction from Peele. The musical soundtrack will be remembered for this film because I find it to be on the lines of classic horror film soundtracks. If I had one issue it would have been some background information on some characters, but that did not affect my grade in the long run. “Us” looks at the reflections of yourself and sees the hatred built inside, but this film displays something more than just hatred, it shows courage and originality.
Grade: A
Run Time: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
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