Get Out (REVIEW)
Written By Jacob Chimilar
I thought this film was going to be one of those ones that not many knew about that I was excited for but judging by the 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and the $10 million Friday it has had it's clear this could be a certified hit.
Despite the perfect score and 8.3/10 average rating this is not a perfect movie. It's mysterious aspects drag on a bit too long for my taste as the audience we know something is up fairly early but mostly normal things keep happening and we only just see the cracks start to come in towards the mid way point. However The performances were spot on. Daniel Kaluuya and Alison Williams make an interesting, believable pair as Chris Washington and Rose Armitage. Alison's parents played by Cathrine Keener and Bradley Whitford were just the right amount of "put off by the new boyfriend" weird. However Caleb Landry Jones as the brother was seemingly in a different movie I thought but, there is justification later on for his actions.
The idea writer director Jordan Peele goes for in the second half is a great one and elevates the first half from a bit mundane to being worth re-watching. This is a plot driven movie that gets pretty creepy with a great mix of score, direction and cinematography to create some really creative images and tones. It didn't quite reach the creep factor it could have been operating at but it was a solid effort that sold me on the originality of the premise.
It is also a movie that deals with race in a way that doesn't feel forced too often. The main characters portray the current "saying something that could be mildly racist and overcompensating in how they aren't racist". Again Jordan Peele takes a different angle to the whole "old white folks dealing with black people" that makes it so much better than the more exploitative films that rely too heavily on the persecution to be enjoyed on any other level. I thought this was an excellent first outing from Jordan Peele. Being from the comedy sketch realm with Key and Peele and with that team's debut in "Keanu" this solo effort by Peele was a more well crafted film and had humor that didn't get too distracting from the main plot. It plays the tone right, going for chuckles and cringe laughs rather than gut busters, and it helps the movie along but also wasn't entirely necessary. I liked it, but sticking to your creepy guns could have worked better for the movie.
With a bit of tightening up, it could have been fantastic. As it is, its just a tad too drawn out but still a very good time with enough creep and suspense to keep things interesting. The humor was good but ultimately detracted from something that would have worked well as a more serious affair. That along with decent characters and enough commentary on the treatment of black people to make a point without being aggressive. I look forward to revisiting this one day I think it would make for a decent re-watch and is one I think most people will enjoy.
