Rarely do we like movies that make us uncomfortable. Even so, it is those choice few that stick with us the most. Last year, Jordan Peele gave us an expertly crafted, undeniably unusual story. It toyed with our pulse and our minds, but most of all, our perception of the world, and when a movie (or any work of art) touches our perceptions, it is very uncomfortable.
The movie takes place in our day; Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is invited by his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), to spend the weekend at her parents’ massive estate. What would be a reasonably sane plot in any other movie, Peele fashions into a landmark horror flick that uses our knowledge of racism to evoke dread.
“Get Out” is incredible. A triumph in most every way, it is scripted, shot, and acted perfectly for its genre. Written by the hilarious Jordan Peele, humor plays an interesting role in furthering the queasy vibe the movie already gives off. Some things are genuinely funny, like almost every line Chris’ TSA friend has, but we are hesitant to dub this an actual comedy; when we do laugh, it feels strange to shift gears back to the odd plot developing before us. Laughter is our natural response when things don’t go the way we thought they would, but when that happens in “Get Out” (like all the time), the movie itself ends up stifling our laughter, making it even more poweful, and, yep, uncomfortable.
Of course, all this is owed to the wonderful work of rightful Oscar-winner, Jordan Peele. Peele revives this classic genre with modern cultural elements — like the rather poignant “Redbone” playing during the opening credits — to make it appealing to us today. He isn’t trying too hard to be relevant, though. The finished product makes it clear that this is someone with genuine talent who poured immeasurable effort into every second of runtime.
There are so many delightfully spine-tingling moments in this (the one pictured above is my favorite), and almost all are accented by Daniel Kaluuya’s near-immaculate performance. His reactions are so real, which I realize is strange to say in a horror movie, but there is no other way to describe them. Kaluuya’s uneasiness reflects our own feelings towards the whole situation (even his laughter, always a nervous reaction, is what we are actually doing the entire time). Peele’s story is quite unorthodox, but it is an immense help when the audience has an on-screen representative.
Revisiting this movie convinced me that, yes, it was tragically robbed of Best Picture. I watched all the frontrunners including “The Shape of Water”, “Three Billboards”, and the like, but none were as captivating on every level as “Get Out”.
The reason this is a powerful movie is because it uses our perceptions of society as a means for suspense. Peele’s script chugs along without having to be too explicit with many things because it rightfully assumes we know what is the underlying tension here. We know there is some impending doom when Chris has a white girlfriend with white parents who make sure he knows they would have voted for Obama a third time; we can’t help but feel dread as a cop asks him for his license when he wasn’t even driving, when Rose’s brother comments on his physique, or when the guests at the party are a little too friendly to him. We understand the implicit tensions so clearly because we know that our world is pretty messed up.
“Get Out” is aware that its own insight to all this is ultimately pessimistic; this becomes stark clear in the final scene: two characters are in a car, one is dropping some of the funniest lines in the entire movie, but the other stares out the window, reeling from his shattered hopes.
While the movie does masterfully play with our shared awareness of racial dynamics to produce an incredibly thrilling plot, embedded in its insightful satire is the subtle conclusion that an ultimate peace is impossible. Of course, there is no room for harmony in a world where the horrendous Coagula Procedure exists, but if the conclusion of the film is translated to our reality, it is largely unsatisfying. Even though there are huge divides between us, deep down, we do long for racial harmony; this is exactly why, when Get Out denies us this hope, the only fitting reaction is to stare blankly out the window, shaken to the core, knowing this should not be the end.
