Us (2019)
Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele
Actors: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph
Jordan Peele surprised everyone back in 2017 with the release of Get Out, myself included. I have never been a big fan of comedy, however Get Out was a pivotal film in my journey to better understand what this genre is capable of. From my review you can see that I started watching way more horror films and enjoyed them greatly. Peele did a great job with Get Out, he had an idea in mind that was wrapped around the theme of race. The theme encompassed the film but not in an overbearing way. It was integral to the story and it made sense both in the world of the film and in real life. He managed to create a film that was filled with so much detail I still discover things I missed from my first viewing. I was excited for his next project, I didn’t know where he would go next. When I saw the trailer and poster for Us, I was happy he was still making films. Plus it was another horror film so we were confident he had the technical experience to nail it again. Although it came out earlier in the year, due to personal issues I wasn’t able to watch it at the time of release. When I finally did manage to see it a couple of days ago, I was left underwhelmed as the credits rolled. Something was different, and I didn’t know what. After days of thinking I can finally express what I was feeling after I finished watching the film.
Where Get Out shined was the tightness of its plot and how closely interwoven it was with its theme of racial tensions in America. It managed to portray a story that was meaningful both on a surface and a deeper more contextual level when it comes to its themes. Every part of the film was integral to the message and it portrayed it so well. This aspect is almost gone with Us, where Jordan Peele forgets about focus and tries to do too much with little he had. The overall concept of the movie is great. I loved the idea of the world and what it actually meant. I just wish he focused on that as he did with Get Out. The film Us to me should have only been about the social divide in our society. That is clear with the way the Tethered and normal people lived their lives. This is also seen with the Wilson summer home in comparison to the Tyler’s more technological world. And the ending of the film fully encompasses the idea of social status. How we realize that Red is able to actually live with normal people and have a normal life without any issue. There is no difference between the Tethered and people living above. Its just the way life is that they are down there and everyone else is up there. It is a great sentiment. But as I said in the beginning, Peele did not make this theme the entire focus of the film. He dug into other topics that were not given as much attention that they just lost all potency. An example is the idea of including the concept of public events such as Hands Across America. I am guessing he wanted to show how absurd they can be at points, I’m not really sure. But that’s exactly my point, by him not fleshing out that concept more in the film, we are just left with more questions. Why were they doing that demonstration? What purpose did it serve? We never got any concrete answer. This is not me saying I want to be spoon fed everything. But at least give me something that is meaningful to the plot and what is happening in the film. I know I’m probably in the minority with these criticisms but I can’t help but feel like the thematic aspects of Us were very loosely put together to fit this plot. Nothing was tightened or fleshed out. It needed more time for it to fully settle in, and that’s why it just felt off for me.
Before going into what I actually enjoyed from the film, there is one other sour point I want to bring up, and that’s the plot. Now I’m not going to just say I think the film has plot holes, I hate just throwing that word around without any context. What I did not enjoy about the plot, other than it feeling rushed at times, was that I genuinely did not feel like the family were in any danger throughout the film. I know they were being chased around by their shadows but for some reason nothing about it felt real. With Get Out, I was genuinely afraid of what might happen to Chris. Here for some reason that wasn’t the case. Maybe it was because the family themselves were sometimes too lighthearted about the whole situation. Constantly joking about their kill counts and Gabe occasionally throwing in a dad joke. It just washed away any sort of fear I had for the characters, and made me complacent with their safety. Alright, so now that I got all of that out of the way, let me briefly talk about what I enjoyed. The film is technically great. The acting is spot on, especially by Lupita Nyong’o. When she managed to kill her other self and started to laugh, something immediately felt off. It didn’t click with me what that was until the twist was revealed. She did an amazing job and should be commended for that. Other than the acting the soundtrack was brilliant. It played a big role in setting the atmosphere and feel of the film. The final fight scene of Red and Addy dancing and stabbing was just brilliant coupled with the score. Finally, Peele’s directing is great as well. Although this is his second feature film, it almost feels like it is his fifth. He shows so much maturity and experience in the way he crafts his film, that even though I am a bit underwhelmed by Us, I still anticipate his next release.
Us is technically tight but thematically messy. It tries to do too many things at once conceptually and does not allow any single idea to fester and have its time. The film could have been up there with Get Out, or Hereditary as one of the great horror classics of the 21st century in my mind. But it just falls short. The framework is all there. Acting, soundtrack, and camera work is all top notch. Its just let down by the plot and overall concepts. Which is a shame because I could see the potential. But I just wish it was more focused. Regardless, I will still remember this film, and will occasionally think about it from time to time. Because I may infact change my mind on all of this. Maybe on a second viewing I will see things differently. Especially with these sort of films that have a significant twist that affects everything that came before it. It is like Psycho, watching it again knowing the ending is a much different experience than watching it the first time. So if I ever change my mind on this film, be on the look out for an edit below the score on my updated thoughts. As of now, I am just underwhelmed unfortunately.
