Friday 17 March 2017

REVIEW: GET OUT

4/5

Scare Jordan.

103 Minutes. Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Milton Howrey, LaKeith Stanfield & Catherine Keener. Director: Jordan Peele.

Peel back the layers of Jordan Peele's scary comedy 'Get Out' and it's onion crying horror hypnosis and you'll see the key to this trumped up satire that breaks down all sorts of walls and boundaries and holds a black mirror up to 'The Donald', or as some people call him; The President Of The (United) States. White privilege can go f### itself! It just got revoked! 'Guess Who'! No we're not asking you that exactly, more if you remember the early 2000's 'Meet The Parents' esque, coming to dinner comedy starring the late, great king of comedy Bernie Mac? The one where Zoe Saldana invites boyfriend Ashton Kutcher for a weekend away to introduce him to her folks and he asks the immortal question..."did you tell them I was white"!? Well Peele flips that as Daniel Kaluuya (who partnered up with Emily Blunt in 'Sicario' and will probably receive more face time in the sequel now) does the family thing with his 'Girl' Allison Williams. Heading to a white picket fence hiding suburbia that may aswell come with a burning cross on the lawn. Because it's not just institutionalised ignorance that lives here when there are servants on the property owned by a father who thinks it's no "thang" (and I'm quoting here). In this haunted house of passive racism, one half of 'Key and Peele' sketch show genius Jordan aggressively attacks this and any tired, discriminating notion that still exists in an abusive, not so free world today lead by a p### grabbing bully of a president who can't even be real about his own haircare. Out with combing over the bull####! Get into this!

Unconventional as it is this is still a horror movie in all it's string twitch, jump moments and hallmark genre tricks and tropes. From people at the window to down the hall. No stone or dark corner unturned. And a horrendously good horror movie it is at that too. Killing it on the usual movie hype attacking Rotten Tomatoes at 99% after days of keeping it at 100. Want to put that into perspective? Have you heard of that other film out this week? Something called 'Beauty and the Beast' by some folks called Disney? Starring young actress Emma Watson who was apparantly in this thing about wizards? Well that currently lies at 69 percentile. SPLAT! 'Get Out' is a roaring success, screaming like bringing home a boyfriend to your parents whose hair is longer than yours and says he's between jobs, but he really means bands as he greets your dads introducing handshake with a slap of five. Feel the unclenching of the binge watching, whitewashed 'Iron Fist'? Then chill with Netflix and marvel at this. As Jordan Peele goes from televison sketch show success as a double act to first full feature film direct all by himself, just like it was all meant to be. The comic gives us something genius after moving on from big screen team-ups for fans of films and felines named after their favourite 'John Wick' and 'Matrix' actors, with one hell of a first impression in the directors chair. From now on the man who wants to make more scary movies (un)like a Wayans' trailers could come with one of those pretentious "from visionary' director intro-tags that usually come along with alt-horror creep show masterminds like Guillermo Del Toro ('Crimson Peak') and Gore Verbinski ('A Cure For Wellness' (cue more deer in the most eye widening headlights here)). And it wouldn't be a joke. Peele belongs with the greatest when it comes to making modern horrors that don't fall into the 'Saw' and 'Ring', can't tell one sequel from another cliche that does the originators like 'The Shining', 'Carrie' and 'The Thing' et al anything but proud. This is the best horror with more to it since the late Anton Yelchin in one of his last films tried to escape fellow Starfleet Academy member Patrick Stewart's 'Green Room'. But in another four walls of horror that will leave you cowering and doubting the chance of escape as much as your armchair crawling hoping for it, this film keeps you guessing as much as it does cheering for it's horror hallmark homages that are given a whole new dedication and distinction from Peele. Jordan rules as he knows how to bring the true shock and awe nature of horror movies in so many ways. You just don't know how and when you'll scream...but oh how you will. It's coming.

And what a cast to hold you to this like a broken leg in a home life that is straight polished wood and picture frame misery by the brimstone fireplace, even more psycho than Bates. Matter of fact there's more to this cast than meets the eye for a role call of actors so recognisable and real you could have swore you had seen them before in more. Take the lead Daniel Kaluuya of British 'Black Mirror' and 'Skins' fame (see also, Nicholas Hoult). He's been working on his American accent from 'Sicario' to the attention of Samuel L. Jackson, but that aside Kaluuya makes this movie his own and is brilliant in a breakout that's just as much his as Jordan's. One scene tea stirred to a chair truly has you in its hypnosis until your eyes water. He makes us really see and look for Peele's unfolding vision in this instant, iconic classic for the modern mainstream. Whilst 'Girls' star and NBC anchor Brian Williams' daughter Allison Williams holds her own, setting a course for her future leading lady lights in movies. One particular scene involving 80's music on the iPod, hair tied back for bed, cross-legged, sweatpant comfy, scrolling through her laptop speaks on so many satirical levels in a film choked full of inspired and incendiary imagery that we can't reveal to spoil but shows you so much more. Here however Allison's father isn't political reporter Williams, but Whitford. Bradley Whitford. The man you know as Josh from President Sheen's 'West Wing'. And should have know from Aaron Sorkin's underrated and unfairly canned Hollywood follow up 'Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip', alongside the Bing of Matthew Perry. This performance like that reminds you why we should see more of Bradley like his second name was Cooper, before his receeding hair and beard get anymore Kenny Rogers. He's a revelation here alongside an equally suburban sinister Catherine Keener. The 'Into The Wild' actress who played Robert Downeg Jr.'s (ex) wife in 'The Soloist' helps sway us towards this narrative as compelling as her soothing cadence. Speaking of voices, 'X-Men's Banshee; Caleb Landry Jones is first class as a bothersome brother who will leave you screaming. Whilst classic character actor Stephen Root drives this extended family tree deeper underground. But it's Donald Glover's 'Atlanta' co-star LaKeith Stanfield-who was so convincing as Snoop Dogg in the N.W.A. 'Straight Outta Compton' movie-who really draws your gaze for his look and true to formidable form act. That is until comedian 'Lil Rel' Milton Howrey steals the show with some howling moments and even more comic relief as anything but the streotypical best friend. Because Jordan's film is all about slamming stereotypes...not reinforcing them. And by the time he's done so everyone else who thought they could get away with backwards discrimination and racism will be. They'll be the one that will really be told to 'Get Out' from this statement of filmmaking. How about it? Here's to a horror movie that shows you just how horrible and terrifying everything really is. No behind the couch bull####. Do you get this? It's like nothing else out there. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

See This If You Liked: 'Keanu', 'Guess Who', 'Knock, Knock'.

1 comment:

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