March 25th, 2019
Written by: Jordon Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss
Budget: $20,000,000
Quote: "hey 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."
Trivia: The Bible verse that continuously appears in the film (Jeremiah 11:11) reads: "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them."
Jordan Peele has once again created an original and excited new entry into the horror genre. I cannot believe that half the comedy duo of Key & Peele (which had a really funny show on Comedy Central) has become one of the most exciting new voices in the horror genre (and soon to be science fiction as the new host of the rebooted Twilight Zone). Like his first movie Get Out, Us also looks at identity, individuality, and what it all means in the broader social context. However, Get Out leaned more towards the psychological thriller genre (despite the very bloody ending), even being classified as a comedy by the Golden Globes (which it simply is not). Instead, Us places both Peele and the movie firmly in the horror camp without any reservations. Us is bloody, intense, and thought provoking. It also boasts incredible performances by all the actors particularly Lupita Nyong'o who absolutely steals the movie. There are dozens of theories about the social and socioeconomic meanings behind the film. There is a lot of merit in these broader implications. But theories aside, the film is a bloody fun ride that never lets up as soon as it begins.
The story begins in the mid-eighties with a young girl name Adelaide getting separated from her family at the Santa Cruz board walk and getting lost in the hall of mirrors where she stumbles upon her doppelganger. Jump forward thirty years, the girl is now an adult (played by Lupita Nyong'o) who now has a husband and two children of her own, Jason and Zora. As they are on their way to a family vacation in Santa Cruz, Adelaide remembers the traumatic event of her childhood and begins to have fears about the vacation. However, her husband is too busy trying to impress their rich friends (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker) to really listen to his wife's fears. One night, Adelaide and her family are attacked in their home by a strange family. Beaten into submission, Adelaide's family is forced to listen to a story where they explain that they are their dopplegangers (called "tethered") and that they and the rest of the "tethered" are here to take their lives so they may live on the outside world. Each family member is then separated with their double and must make quick decisions in order to survive. In the midst of the fight for survival they arrive at their friend's house and discover that Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker's family has already been taken over by their dopplegangers. The rest of the movie becomes a fight for survival for themselves and for humanity.
While Us has received favorable reviews there have been some detractors who bring up some genuinely good points. However, what everyone, myself included, seems to agree upon is the incredible performance by Lupita Nyong'o. Nyong'o, like the rest of the cast plays two characters, both a good an evil version. Her first character, Adelaide, begins the movie as meek, frightened, and anxious, but after her husband is injured and it become more imperative that she be the primary protector of her family, her character evolves into an absolute force. The broad range of emotions, Nyong'o is able to convey is what really carries the movie (along with the suspense and violence). With her second character, her double Red, Nyong'o is able to capture the sadism and cruelty of the "other half." Nyong'o's looks and subtle gestures help to make her character so terrifying. The other actors in the film also do a great job. The daughter's doppleganger has the same dead shark eyed look the never changes, the son's double wears a frightening mask and runs on all fours (which was a really scary image when we first see the family standing outside their double's house), and the father's double is almost unrecognizable to the original as he demonstrates what actor Winston Duke could be if programmed for violence instead of goofy puns. Heidecker and Moss are also hilarious as the shitty rich husband and wife who despise each other.
Us, very successfully blends the home invasion film with what could closely be called a zombie apocalypse film. There is something about the home invasion film that has always made it one of the most terrifying types of films in horror. I think it is that the home is supposed to be our small section of safety in this unsafe world. The violation of this safe space and the fear of being unable to protect our loved ones makes these types of movies so frightening. Instead, upon the initial home invasion by the dopplegangers, the father is easily overpowered, the mother is forced to handcuff herself to a table, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Fortunately, the family is able to get away from their doubles but moments later we see what happens with the Moss/Heidecker family when things do not go so well. Following these two home invasions, the rest of the movie somewhat follows a zombie movie trope (aside from the last ten minutes where things go off somewhere else).
Jordan Peele, as a comedian, is also able to punctuate the film with some really funny (albeit dark) comedic moments. As Moss' character is dying, surrounded by her family's doubles she tells her audio voice service to call the police, which it responds, "Okay, now playing Fuck the Police by NWA." It is hard not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation as Ice Cube raps over the final killing of Moss' character. There is also a funny exchange as the family fights over who gets to drive. They decide on who got the most kills, which Zora proudly claims is her since she killed two people, to which the mother replies, no, you didn't kill the daughter, I had to finish her off. Another moment of absurdity to lighten the mood. Also, Moss and Heidecker's characters are hilarious.
SPOILERS BELOW: It is hard not to write about the movie without talking about the ending. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want the ending spoiled, stop reading now. You've been warned.
The big twist was at the end of the movie is when we realize that Adelaide was actually the double the whole time and that she switched places with the girl when she was originally lost in the hall of mirrors. The twist was effective but not necessarily mind blowing. It did explain what made Red unique enough to assemble and coordinate the doubles to take over the outside world. Yet, it didn't explain what made the double unique enough to escape. This troubled some viewers, but I like some unanswered questions in movies. The doubles were supposed to be ignorant of their situation and it was this ignorance that keep them enslaved in their segregated area. It reminds me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, where people chained in a cave see shadows and understand them to be reality, oblivious that reality is behind them only casting those shadows. Obviously Peele is trying to convey a message about the illusory qualities of what we perceive to be reality. That there is something more, we are just too ignorant to turn around and see.
Throughout the film, Jeremiah 11:11 is constantly referenced. This bible verse states. "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." This verse is in direct reference to God's judgement of idolatry and builds on the false reality themes of the film. Not only does it allude to the idea that things are not as we perceive but it is a direct warning against this ignorance. As in the biblical story, so to in the movie, ignorance is punished by death. It is also telling that the first person killed by their double is the harbinger of this punishment, the man who was holding the Jeremiah 11:11 sign. Upon arriving in Santa Cruz we discover that he has been killed and later, his double is the first person to form the chain that will eventually include millions of the doubles.
Many reviews and critics have mentioned a socioeconomic interpretation of the film and I have to agree. I believe what Peele was saying in the film is that there is a class of people who exist and thrive based on the toiling and suffering of a ignored invisible class. Marxist could easily turn this to be a bourgeoisie vis-a-vis proletariat class war. Maybe. Or maybe its a psychological war. Could the outside people represent the civilized and socialized person that we think is our genuine self and the underground "tethered" person represents the dark and animalistic part of our psyche that we try to hide from others? Maybe. It would explain the eating of raw rabbit. Or maybe the movie is a message about xenophobia. The title of the film Us denotes that there is an "other." Is Peele saying that we are a nation divided, with each side ignoring and maligning the other? There is even a couple digs at President Trump. So, maybe that is what he is saying. I think the equivocal nature of the film is what makes Us so effective (aside from it just being a fun horror flick). There are numerous interpretations that we can each come to and none of which are necessarily wrong. In the end, the movie is what we choose to make of it and the fact that we can argue about what it means is just a sign that it is a good movie.
...what's your thoughts?
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