Nope
Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures’s Nope is playing in theaters at the time of writing.
SCREENPLAY: A
Metal debris mysteriously rains down on a Hollywood horse ranch. Is it aliens, or is there some other, more natural cause? Spoiler/not spoiler: it’s aliens.
You never know if an alien movie is going to be about bloodthirsty extraterrestrials bent on destroying the earth or if it’s going to be a powerfully moving meditation about what human existence truly means. Nope emits both vibes in its beginning before finally firmly settling upon one. It takes its time deciding on that vibe, and as a result its stakes don’t always carry a lot of weight. But the story is so thrilling and unpredictable, we’re fine with it.
ACTING: A
Kaluuya doesn’t carry much swagger here. Many other (superbly talented) actors may have chosen to bring a bunch of bravado. But that would turn this into an action movie. That’s not what this movie needs. Kaluuya plays Otis like the quiet guy you know never to mess with. As in many of his roles, his eyes communicate so much more than his words ever could. He’s magnetic.
Keke Palmer throws equal parts sass and soul. Emerald could have been a flashy, fairly shallow part. But Palmer hides something wounded behind all her razzle dazzle. She never lets us know what it is (we could certainly guess). That decision elevates both her performance and the entire film.
Steve Yuen’s performance may be my favorite. Unlike Emerald’s, Jupe’s wounds are lying right on the table, explicitly spelled out for all to see. Watching him wrestle them is an acting masterclass.
CRAFT: A-
Peele’s first two films are packed with unbelievable needle drops, and.Nope keeps the tradition rolling. Some of the songs Peele spins are Easter eggs. Some punctuate emotional moments. Others are simply sweet jams, like when Emerald literally drops the needle on her father’s old record player and rocks out.
The editing mainly hits but misses just a little bit. There are times when you’re not sure what the plan is. There are other times when you know the plan, but you have no idea if it’s working or not. Those confusing moments are the editing’s misses. The hits include whenever the movie slowly builds up tension or tells its story through visuals. It reaches the greatest of hits with its handling of the main subplot.
SUB PLOTS (Elective Class): A+
A subplot is a mini-story inside the main story. Think of it as the side dish for your main course that makes the entire meal pop. Sometimes it’s as simple as adding a love interest for the main character. Other times, it’s not so simple. Some movies add a deranged tale of a fictional 90’s network sit-com that stars a chimpanzee.
We get a small, quick dose of Gordy (the chimp) in the very first scene. We scream FTW (only, backwards). The trailer tells us this is an alien movie. What is this scene doing here?, we ask. It feels weird and wrong and slightly nauseating. But it’s also fascinating. It’s so bizarre you can’t help but want to know how it connects to what you’ve seen in the trailer: spooked horses and midnight record player dancing parties and big inflatable car dealership men flapping in the desert. Each time we revisit Gordy, we get a slightly longer scene. The slow trickle of new information snatches our attention. Our minds can’t help but try to solve the appetizing puzzle Peele lays out for us. The closer we get to solving the mystery, the more obvious it is that it’s Peele FTW (frontwards). Gordy’s journey is the key to understanding the movie’s true message.
FINAL COMMENTS:
If you like Jordan Peele’s first two films, you should enjoy Nope as well. As usual, it’s insightful social commentary delivered inside an exciting thriller. It resembles Us more than Get Out. Get Out’s social commentary is easy to discern while you watch it. Us’s social commentary is harder to decipher. But once you do, several beguiling interpretations reveal themselves. Nope may be the least frightening of Peele’s work, but it’s the most intricately designed of the three. This film asks you to do more work than the others. But remember - the best things in life are the things you need to work for.