Written by Grady Fiorio
Original Publishing Date: August 10th, 2022
Rating 3/5
A Pleasant Suprise
This is going to get me in a lot of hot water but I must admit, I'm really not a Jordan Peele fan. I've seen all his films on opening weekend, and I've watched them with an open mind, but for the most part, they aren't for me. The short of it is that I feel that Peele has good concepts and an important message, but can't execute either of those. I think the writing is too on the nose and feels hamfisted. The writing points a giant neon sign right at his message. It's like Peele is sitting right next to you in the theater saying in your ear "Did you get it? Did you get the message? Really I want to know if you got what I'm saying." Yes! I get the message loud and clear, and believe it or not I don't need flashing lights and waving hands to see it. It's not that every movie needs to be subtle, but Peele's films act like they are being sly and clever when it's really like getting your brain gangbanged by a bunch of crappy youtube video essays explaining the most basic film commentary. I know that's a pretty unpopular opinion and that I'm in the minority, but that's what makes Nope so much more interesting. Nope is Peele's best work yet. It's not without flaws but it manages to deliver many satisfying sequences of horror without overindulging in its messaging.
Nope brings us to the lives of OJ and Emerald Haywood. Hollywood horse ranchers, who at the worst time get caught up in an alien conspiracy plaguing their horses and their land. Nope manages to put a truly unique spin on the UFO trope while also paying homage to the classics that it's clearly inspired by. If Get Out is Cronenberg, Us is Carpenter, then Nope is a clear take on the blockbusters of Speilberg. Take one half Jaws and one half of Close Encounters, mix thoroughly with blood and guts, and you'll get Nope. For some, this may feel like a retread, but for myself, I found that it made a well-worn genre feel new again. It's hard to say much more without going into spoilers, but Peele's twist on aliens was genuinely effective in creating some seriously terrifying moments. With even one scene being truly one of the most terrifying sequences I have ever seen in a horror film.
Nope's strength comes from its commitment to its concept. Everything the film does is in service of telling its otherworldly story. It's constantly building on its lore while creating new mysteries along the way that kept me guessing. I found myself asking so many questions about the alien. While the film doesn't answer many questions regarding its mysteries, I still left the theater satisfied with my own theories and guesses. This is by no means a new technique for films of this sort but is effective nonetheless. The film's alien threat is not only terrifying and ominous but also manages to find beauty in its madness. Without spoilers, the film's epic climax truly puts the alien on full display in some hauntingly beautiful displays of power. The threat of an unknown god looking down on his subservients. The myth of the human apex is no more. It's the kind of look I wish more blockbuster films could achieve and aspire to. Nope is easily Peele's best-looking film. Hoyte Van Hoytema brings a beautiful aesthetic to the plains of the Hollywood Valley. As the film's director of photography, Hoyte captures some stunning night cinematography that is unique and has no comparison. Lighting for the night is definitely a hard challenge but Hoyte has conquered it without fail.
While Nope does improve on Peele's past work it's still far from perfect. Not everything Peele throws into the mix plays nicely with the rest of the film. There is a specific subplot regarding an old sitcom gone haywire, that attempts to inspire queries but seemed more like it fell into the old trappings of Us or Get Out. These specific scenes walk the tightrope of messaging and storytelling but don't always manage to find the proper balance. It can feel frustrating when Peele is so close to hitting the mark but is just off by a little bit. However, it's still a massive improvement from his previous work, so that I can appreciate. However, this directly leads to the film's biggest problems. Nope struggles to find a meaningful voice while balancing uneven pacing and performances. Nope's first half is heavily weighed down by a slow pace and lack of tension. Only after the first hour does the plot truly begin to pick up. Once the film can finally get over this hump it becomes incredibly more engaging. Nope isn't a film that needed to be over two hours long and would have moved much better somewhere in the hour forty-five or two-hour mark. Too many meaningless subplots drag the story. Some side characters are also given needless exposition for things that are once again conceptually interesting but don't add to the sum of their parts. It's all wasted time that could be spent on the film's truly terrifying enemy. It probably also doesn't help that the film is needlessly split into chapters named after various horses in the movie. The plot doesn't delegate well into these slices and the horse names add nothing to the blocks of storytelling. Nothing can throw off a story's pace quite like mismanaged chapters, and Nope is chock-full of 'em.
While the film is building up its side characters it seems to forget to bolster its main cast. OJ, played by Daniel Kaluuya, gets the worst of it. His character has literally no arc. He is the exact same character when the film begins and when it ends. Throughout the film, he is emotionless and used solely to get the plot from points A to B. It's such a shame because Kaluuya is such a talented actor, it's a waste to give him nothing to do on screen. While OJ suffers the most in this regard, others don't fare much better. The rest of the characters have questionable motivations at best. I found many of their decisions hard to believe, seeming uncharacteristic of the circumstances at hand. *Spoiler Warning* The film opens with a brutal murder by a chimp named Gordy, who is the star of a gimmicky '90s sitcom. Steven Yeun's character Ricky Park, portrayed as a 10-year-old in this scene, bares witness to all of his costars getting unwilling facial realignments by the steady hands of one Gordy. And how does this 10-year-old react? By deciding to turn it for profit of course! Does it really make sense for a child to try and capitalize on the brutal murder of his close friends and co-workers? I can understand a tragic event wrapping someone's mind over time, but really is that the first thing a ten-year-old would think of after witnessing multiple murders? *Spoilers Over* While these characters get too much, others get too little. Michael Wincott brings the heat in his performance as Antlers Holst, a retired documentary filmmaker chasing his last hoorah. He gave my favorite performance in the film but still felt a bit underdeveloped.
In all the extraterrestrial madness what does Nope want to say? Its message is that of the dangers of exploring, nature, tragedy, and unneeded spectacle for profit. In the age of instant gratification and TikTok serving as a dopamine tap for every unwitting ten-year-old with a crippling Roblox addiction, it's a message I can appreciate. We live in an era where every single moment is capitalized for clicks and views. No longer do we watch films or listen to music, it's all about content. No more peace, no more silence, no more art, just content. A meaningless void of ai written reality shows aggregated to gain clicks and views while we sit back couch locked stuffing down quadruple bacon burgers that google maps advertised to us while we drove our electric cars to the gym, so we could feel good about ourselves. We shovel shit in and shovel shit out. That's all it is anymore. Just. Shit. Don't believe me? Go to a concert and see how many people are watching the show and how many more are recording it on their phones so they can pretend like they are going to watch it later. I sound pessimistic, but it's the true reality that every artist is competing with when trying to emerge in their respective industries. At a very baseline level, this is what Nope is trying to tap into, with emphasis on the "trying". As my rant may suggest I really do appreciate it. I did get quite a kick out of the scene involving the TMZ motorcyclist. That all being said Nope struggles to find the balance of its message. The film will head-on tackle its themes in some scenes, and pretend like it doesn't exist in others. I expressed my frustrations with Peele's delivery of messaging in his previous works so I probably sound like I'm just being picky now. Truthfully I want Peele to speak his truth while also being able to tell his story, but every step seems to slip. This is the tightrope walk that every artist faces, and for as much of a sourpuss as I sound, I truly am rooting for Peele to make it to the other side.
Before I conclude there's one scene, in particular, I want to discuss. However, this gets into some pretty spoiler-heavy territory. If you haven't seen the film yet, jump to the next paragraph where I wrap things up. You've been warned *Spoilers Ahead* The film finds its turning point halfway through when Ricky, a ranch theme park host, encourages the film's UFO antagonist. A group of on-lookers sits by on some bleachers while Ricky explains a family history relating to aliens, while simultaneously trying to sacrifice a horse to the oncoming UFO. For the story's sake, I reeeeeeally had to suspend my disbelief, but the following left me in complete shock and awe. As the UFO makes its way to the bleachers and stage, it starts a suctioning-like vacuum from a hole in its underside. The UFO gets closer and closer and soon begins to suck up all the pedestrians watching the "show". Everyone is abducted except for the horse which was originally intended to be its sacrifice. We then see the perspective from inside the UFO and are revealed Nope's grand twist. The UFO is the alien. There aren't a bunch of little ETs piloting a spacecraft but rather the menace surfing through the cloud is a terrifying celestial being of godlike force that completely destroys everything it consumes in its path. The pedestrians are then slowly crushed and swallowed alive in what I can only describe as one of the scariest and most disturbing scenes in a horror film. Hearing these people get crushed to bits and dissolved by "stomach acid" is nothing short of gutwrenching. As a claustrophobe myself, this really got underneath my skin in the best way possible. This scene is only enhanced by including the sounds of screaming coming from the UFO during later scenes in the film, implying that some are melting but yet still alive in this disgusting alien wretch. This ultimately concludes in a rain of blood and giblets that shower onto the Haywood Ranch later in the film. However, no good deed goes unpunished as this sequence's one fatal flaw is that the moment is so short and we never return to these alien innards. Despite this Peele has created something both truly haunting and unique in this stomach-turning scene.
While this may be quite the backhanded compliment, in all its flaws Nope was quite the pleasant surprise and Peele's best directorial work to date. A unique plot, tighter script, and stunning cinematography elevate this above Peele's other work, if the pace does occasionally bog it down. It's not the best film of the year but it makes me excited to see what Peele will bring to the table next. At the very least, I didn't leave the theater saying "nope".
Director Jordan Peele
Runtime 2 Hr 15 Min
Format Digital (DCP)
Release Date 2022
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