How do you follow up an Oscar-nominated directorial debut? Jordan Peele has crafted Us, a film that feels distinctively cut from the same cloth as his Best Original Screenplay-winning Get Out, if slightly more ambitious in its thematic depth and complexity. It feels like a natural progression for Peele but with increased expectations comes a greater sense of pressure and Us buckles under the weight of its own conceit.
Starring Lupita Nyong'o in (unbelievably) her first leading role, Us follows the Wilsons as their family holiday is interrupted by a group of their doppelgängers who infest their home. Co-starring Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss, most of whom tackle dual roles, Us has so much on its mind and its ambition is evident, admirable even -- but having set such a high bar, Peele fails to clear it with his sophomore effort.
Jordan Peele's filmmaking sensibilities are as strong in Us as they were in Get Out, with a handful of technically impressive elements within his latest feature-length venture. Aesthetically powerful and laced with terrific visual easter eggs that aid its thematic explorations, Peele's potent yet measured camerawork is enhanced by brilliantly detailed production design and costume work. Enhanced further by Mike Gioulakis's cinematography, every frame is rife with meaning and significance, assuring that Us' visual language is second-to-almost-none in terms of recent horror releases.
Suspense spills from Michael Abels' extraordinarily-crafted score: a piece which can only be described as a triumph in terror and tension. Stabby strings, heavenly (or hellish?) operatics and unpredictable sonic diversions ensure that his composition bubbles away, evoking an edge-of-your-seat atmosphere that permeates every sequence. In particular, 'Pas de Deux' is an exemplary feat, measured with such precision to enhance the dread of one climactic moment superbly. If you were to argue that the soundtrack is overbearing, you wouldn't be far off the mark - it is never shrinking in its presence throughout the film - but especially in isolation, it is a tremendous piece. Furthermore, the film's Tethered Mix of I Got 5 on It is an ingenious inclusion.
Lupita Nyong'o's efforts are truly remarkable here, registering a dynamite dual performance of immense power and intensity. Her nuanced exploration of past trauma and real-life uneasiness is contrasted with hellbent revenge and new-found autonomy, empowering Nyong'o to deliver not one but two stellar turns of equal strength. Unlike the film itself - and more on this latter - Nyong'o can flit between tones with real confidence. Teetering close enough to volcanic rage while maintaining a poise as we head deeper into the unknown as Adelaide, she can almost sinisterly chill through her precise body language, movement and voice as Red. It's a horror performance for the ages and purely as a showcase for Nyong'o's acting abilities, Us is worth the ticket price.
And lest we forget some of the supporting cast members; while this is Nyong'o's star vehicle, others contribute exceptional work. Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex tackle their roles with real depth, especially impressive given their scarcity in previous screen credits; even as the younger members of the Wilson family, they impart compelling performances in challenging roles, rarely overshadowed by the bigger ideas and demands of the film. Additionally, Elisabeth Moss threatens to steal the show in her handful of scenes: what may be considered a throwaway line is never forgotten due to Moss' memorable delivery, immensely satisfying when its significance is realised later on.
Surprisingly though, despite the strong technical achievements and filmmaking on display, there is as much that doesn't work in Us and I found myself untethering myself from it as the minutes ticked on. Peele's Get Out script is not only one of the finest horror scripts written, but one of the decade's most exceptional pieces of work; unfortunately for Us, previous success has lead to higher expectations and Peele's sophomore effort suffers from trying to be too much that explains too little. Plot holes are disregarded and unexplored while the compelling thematic beats that could have supported crucial narrative development are not considered with any gravitas.
And, when the film's final twist - the type of conclusion I adore in cinema - is foretold before the title screen even appears, the punchline concluding the film peters out with a whimper rather than a bang. It unsatisfyingly leaves you with more questions than it bothers to answer, and not all of it is because it seeks ambiguity -- some of it just strikes you as lazy.
Genre infusion can yield fantastic results and Peele himself mastered this hybrid previously -- in Us though, the comedy and horror genres are fighting each other incongruously. We cut almost instantly from a jump-scare horror set piece to a humorous punchline which diffuses so much of the suspense that it frequently unbalances the film. Winston Duke's character is treated almost exclusively as a comedic relief tool, which not only limits his potential but weakens the strength of the film through its jarring tonal swaying. It creates a sense of self-awareness as if the film is hesitant to embrace its genre roots, scared to look 'uncool'. When you also consider that while the film is intense but rarely scary, it masters neither element separately or cohesively.
After a stunningly-realised and well-executed twist that widens the film's scope terrifically and signals the transition from the second act to the third, Us looks as though it is finally maintaining a stronger grip on its character and story. Yet, with an information dump that could have been easily alleviated with a flipped point-of-view flashback (instead of endless explanation that still doesn't fully tap into the hows or the whys of the situation despite the complexity of the reveal), and the film's inclination to shout 'did you get that? do you get what we're saying? are you looking?' in an otherwise impeccably-crafted sequence, it throws away that potential one last time.
Us can be such an impenetrable film that even now, 48 hours removed, I'm struggling to pinpoint where it all went wrong for me. It's almost certainly a combination of (perhaps) unfairly high expectations, its disregard of the thematic beats that personally would interest me most as a viewer and my inability to read some of the denser interpretations, all of which - admittedly - are on me. But that doesn't ease my frustrations with Us and while I would rather a film try and fail than not try at all, I shall move away from the collectivity of the titular pronoun and speak personally: Us let me down.
6/10
Summary: Jordan Peele's Us has a lot on its mind and admirably so, with some great filmmaking practise and performances coursing through its veins -- but its jarring tonal clash, thematic density and predictable ending disappointingly weight down this sophomore effort.
Starring Lupita Nyong'o in (unbelievably) her first leading role, Us follows the Wilsons as their family holiday is interrupted by a group of their doppelgängers who infest their home. Co-starring Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss, most of whom tackle dual roles, Us has so much on its mind and its ambition is evident, admirable even -- but having set such a high bar, Peele fails to clear it with his sophomore effort.
Jordan Peele's filmmaking sensibilities are as strong in Us as they were in Get Out, with a handful of technically impressive elements within his latest feature-length venture. Aesthetically powerful and laced with terrific visual easter eggs that aid its thematic explorations, Peele's potent yet measured camerawork is enhanced by brilliantly detailed production design and costume work. Enhanced further by Mike Gioulakis's cinematography, every frame is rife with meaning and significance, assuring that Us' visual language is second-to-almost-none in terms of recent horror releases.
Suspense spills from Michael Abels' extraordinarily-crafted score: a piece which can only be described as a triumph in terror and tension. Stabby strings, heavenly (or hellish?) operatics and unpredictable sonic diversions ensure that his composition bubbles away, evoking an edge-of-your-seat atmosphere that permeates every sequence. In particular, 'Pas de Deux' is an exemplary feat, measured with such precision to enhance the dread of one climactic moment superbly. If you were to argue that the soundtrack is overbearing, you wouldn't be far off the mark - it is never shrinking in its presence throughout the film - but especially in isolation, it is a tremendous piece. Furthermore, the film's Tethered Mix of I Got 5 on It is an ingenious inclusion.
Lupita Nyong'o's efforts are truly remarkable here, registering a dynamite dual performance of immense power and intensity. Her nuanced exploration of past trauma and real-life uneasiness is contrasted with hellbent revenge and new-found autonomy, empowering Nyong'o to deliver not one but two stellar turns of equal strength. Unlike the film itself - and more on this latter - Nyong'o can flit between tones with real confidence. Teetering close enough to volcanic rage while maintaining a poise as we head deeper into the unknown as Adelaide, she can almost sinisterly chill through her precise body language, movement and voice as Red. It's a horror performance for the ages and purely as a showcase for Nyong'o's acting abilities, Us is worth the ticket price.
And lest we forget some of the supporting cast members; while this is Nyong'o's star vehicle, others contribute exceptional work. Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex tackle their roles with real depth, especially impressive given their scarcity in previous screen credits; even as the younger members of the Wilson family, they impart compelling performances in challenging roles, rarely overshadowed by the bigger ideas and demands of the film. Additionally, Elisabeth Moss threatens to steal the show in her handful of scenes: what may be considered a throwaway line is never forgotten due to Moss' memorable delivery, immensely satisfying when its significance is realised later on.
Surprisingly though, despite the strong technical achievements and filmmaking on display, there is as much that doesn't work in Us and I found myself untethering myself from it as the minutes ticked on. Peele's Get Out script is not only one of the finest horror scripts written, but one of the decade's most exceptional pieces of work; unfortunately for Us, previous success has lead to higher expectations and Peele's sophomore effort suffers from trying to be too much that explains too little. Plot holes are disregarded and unexplored while the compelling thematic beats that could have supported crucial narrative development are not considered with any gravitas.
And, when the film's final twist - the type of conclusion I adore in cinema - is foretold before the title screen even appears, the punchline concluding the film peters out with a whimper rather than a bang. It unsatisfyingly leaves you with more questions than it bothers to answer, and not all of it is because it seeks ambiguity -- some of it just strikes you as lazy.
Genre infusion can yield fantastic results and Peele himself mastered this hybrid previously -- in Us though, the comedy and horror genres are fighting each other incongruously. We cut almost instantly from a jump-scare horror set piece to a humorous punchline which diffuses so much of the suspense that it frequently unbalances the film. Winston Duke's character is treated almost exclusively as a comedic relief tool, which not only limits his potential but weakens the strength of the film through its jarring tonal swaying. It creates a sense of self-awareness as if the film is hesitant to embrace its genre roots, scared to look 'uncool'. When you also consider that while the film is intense but rarely scary, it masters neither element separately or cohesively.
After a stunningly-realised and well-executed twist that widens the film's scope terrifically and signals the transition from the second act to the third, Us looks as though it is finally maintaining a stronger grip on its character and story. Yet, with an information dump that could have been easily alleviated with a flipped point-of-view flashback (instead of endless explanation that still doesn't fully tap into the hows or the whys of the situation despite the complexity of the reveal), and the film's inclination to shout 'did you get that? do you get what we're saying? are you looking?' in an otherwise impeccably-crafted sequence, it throws away that potential one last time.
Us can be such an impenetrable film that even now, 48 hours removed, I'm struggling to pinpoint where it all went wrong for me. It's almost certainly a combination of (perhaps) unfairly high expectations, its disregard of the thematic beats that personally would interest me most as a viewer and my inability to read some of the denser interpretations, all of which - admittedly - are on me. But that doesn't ease my frustrations with Us and while I would rather a film try and fail than not try at all, I shall move away from the collectivity of the titular pronoun and speak personally: Us let me down.
6/10
Summary: Jordan Peele's Us has a lot on its mind and admirably so, with some great filmmaking practise and performances coursing through its veins -- but its jarring tonal clash, thematic density and predictable ending disappointingly weight down this sophomore effort.