Us (2019)

Firstly, let me open by saying the while I did enjoy Jordan Peele’s last effort, 2017’s Get Out, I did think that it was largely overrated and its Oscar win for Best Script was strictly a political move by the Academy, who have now long been mainly about public and media trends and politics and less about films and filmmaking. Having said that, I do think that Peele is a very capable filmmaker with a great aesthetic sense, timing and storytelling flair. Us, his most recent offering, clearly demonstrates his high skill level in most filmmaking departments and shows great promise for the future.

Us tells the story of Adelaide Wilson, portrayed by Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Star Wars films, 12 Years A Slave), who in 1986, experiences a traumatic event while momentarily separated from her parents at an amusement park on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. She ventures into an attraction, a hall of mirrors of sorts, where she discovers a terrifying reality, her Doppelganger. After the traumatic experience, her parents are at a loss as to what has happened or what to do now to help their little girl, with their constant bickering not helping matters any, as Adelaide refuses to tell anyone what happened. She, in fact, stops talking altogether.

The film then skips to the present, where we find that Adelaide has, in fact, at least partly, gotten over the trauma, as she now speaks and has a family of her own. Adelaide, along with her husband, Gabe (Winston Duke of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame) and their two kids, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex) are headed for their vacation home for some fun family time. Shortly after their arrival, Gabe suggest they go spend the day at the Santa Cruz beach. Adelaide is resistant to the idea, yet is talked into going by Gabe and the kids. At the beach, they meet their old friends the Tylers (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker) and their twin daughters. Their beach adventure ends up including some strange coincidences and the brief disappearance of Jason, yet they all return to the vacation home intact and are about to settle in for a quiet night. That’s where their serenity is disturbed by the sudden appearance of a family in their driveway, two parents and their two kids who all appear to be identical doppelgangers to the Wilsons.

This film has already garnered its fair share of interpretations and analyses. There are a lot of little hints and images peppered throughout the film as “breadcrumbs” to lead us to certain conclusions. One of the main themes running through it, is the number 11, appearing early on with a biblical reference to Jeremiah 11:11. Upon research, it can found that the biblical verse states: “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.” The reference to the verse appears a few times before pivotal moments and the number 11 keeps coming up, though mostly planted ‘in the background’. There are several references to other films, such Jaws and The Shining, as well as, getting back to the biblical theme, heaven and hell analogies, the repeated appearance of rabbits and what can be interpreted as political statements to do with social classes and identity in the world today, as well as issues of duality. Those can be explored in-depth over hours, as I am certain repeated viewings will also introduce more ‘Easter eggs’ and clues into Peele’s intentions.

Nyong’o gives a performance that is easily worthy of an Academy Award nomination, at the very least, though much like Toni Collette’s snub for her appearance in Hereditary, is unlikely to get one. She creates such extreme distinction between the two characters, Adelaide and her Doppelganger, Red, that gets quite spooky at times. She does this by changing her look, voice and mannerisms so well, that the sense of sheer terror, understanding, despair and fight for survival are all quite believable. Shahadi Wright Joseph was extremely effective at the daughter, in my opinion. She, similarly, created such difference between her two characters that a couple of times I had to check if it was the same actress. Some of the facial expressions of her doppelganger character were horrigyingly convincing and I am sure will terrify some viewers. Elisabeth Moss (Queen of Earth, Hi-Rise, Her Smell, TV’s Mad Men, The Handmaid’s Tale) was also absolutely captivating in a supporting role. I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear her name mentioned as a potential contender for Oscar nomination. Evan Alex was largely great as Jason, though I found him to be less consistent, yet quite entertaining. Tim Heidecker (Fantastic Four, Ant-Man and the Wasp) was also great as the family friend, though I wished his character got more screen time and more depth. Although I’ve heard many people rave about Winston Duke’s performance and how funny he was, I found his character to be mostly likable, yet his performance somewhat laborious and at times, less convincing. Overall, though, he was more good than bad.

The cinematography by Mike Gioulakis (It Follows, Split, Glass) is quite well done. It provides us with the right pacing and sense of unease, with great use of lighting. Michael Abels’ (Get Out) score also deserves a mention. It keeps the sense of dread and urgency going, without overtaking the film. It just hangs in the background, helping our increased sense of anxiety while we barely notice it, which is what a good musical score should do.

Peele pays tribute and homages to several directors, some of which include Kubrick, Hitchcok, De Palma, Aronofsky and possibly even Shyamalan, but he does so while maintaining a sense of himself and imprinting his own style on the film. Having said that, the one thing that did bother me was certain issue with the premise and script, which Peele wrote. I find a certain story angle here to be quite ludicrous and largely unbelievable within the story. I cannot go into it for fear of spoiling, but it creates an antagonism that interfered with my suspension of disbelief to the point where I couldn’t fully give in to the film and therefore, a chasm, or distance, was created that left me largely unaffected by the family’s plight.

Overall, I applaud Peele’s efforts in bringing something new to the horror genre, while borrowing elements from, or paying respect to, its past. It seems to me that there are huge expectations of the director due to the success of Get Out and Us, that those who rate him highly, greatly overrate his work, giving it credit for depth that may or may not exist, as well as for scripts that are far from perfect, while those who don’t (as in, the ‘haters’), greatly underrate his amazing skill and storytelling prowess. To me, he is somewhere in the middle, a solid filmmaker, who is still finding his feet and will continue to improve as he goes. Personally, I look forward to his next film, whatever it may be.

Worth several repeat viewings for some clue-chasing fun and further entertainment.

Has its faults, but mostly a well put together and entertaining experience. 7/10.