Let’s check some review boxes off, shall we? Firstly, the entire cast is awesome. Like, truly stellar. Winston Duke (a.k.a. “M’Baku” of “Black Panther” fame) epitomizes that quintessential American dad archetype we all either had, or wish we had. (That’s right, I’m reaching for all the top-shelf words today... ) Both the kids, played by Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex, do fantastic in roles that ask a lot of them. But the shining star here is Lupita N’yongo as Adelaide/“Red”, who ends up portraying both primary protagonist and antagonist of “Us.” She’s both sweet and menacing, frightening and unhinged. Oscars, anybody?
The other big standout here is Peele’s direction. The film is shot beautifully: long, lingering, creepy shots that don’t give you the easy way out with a cheap jump scare. The colors really pop; the images of the doppelgangers (a.k.a. The “Tethered”) in their crisp red jumpsuits is absolutely unnerving.
Peele also demonstrates how to properly escalate tension, with unsettling coincidences turning to creepy disturbances and eventually abject terror. There’s some great foreshadowing through Biblical verses, as well as some literal foreshadowing with shadowy symbolism. Peele also clearly understands that horror and comedy are not mutually exclusive, and he frequently uses one to complement the other. No spoilers, but there’s a fucking fantastic horror scene of a particularly brutal kill juxtaposed with the chill tone of the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” Truly excellent stuff. And while the film does occasionally dip into this good-ol’- fashioned “death and terror” territory, a lot of the horror of “Us” is more atmospheric, as Peele slowly “peeles” back the layers of intrigue and reveals his true machinations (see what I did there? God, I deserve a trophy or something.)
The big thematic buzzword I keep hearing connected to “Us” is “duality.” This is something “Us” deals with extensively, as this family and eventually the country at large are forced to reckon with the darker, more evil parts of our nature. “Us” is ourselves; “Us” is America; “Us” is “U. S.” That’s clearly not coincidental. Class warfare is also a big theme, with messages of oppression and uprising very present. Nothing feels too overt, however.
Okay, some SPOILER STUFF here:
It’s revealed that the Tethered are part of a vague, shadowy government experiment gone wrong, and they’ve been forgotten to live out a hellish nightmare in the underground tunnels of America, living off nothing but live rabbits.
Okay, but… how?
Peele has stated that you’re not meant to think about the logistics of these revelations too much; it’s more a symbolic plot. But when I’m watching a movie that raises all these questions without providing reasonable answers, I get pulled out of the story because I have to try to figure it out for myself. If the Tethered had been left as a supernatural element, which I had assumed they were until the reveal, I wouldn’t have to try to rationalize their existence in my head. But no, it had to be the government #staywoke.
So anyway, “Us” is really good. Big recommend from me. The only things keeping it from being great are all those unanswered logical gaps that the movie fails to satisfactorily answer. Not everything needs an answer, but the hanging threads better not distract from the rest of the film.
The bunnies are super creepy, too.
Image & Info Sources:
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Us IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/?ref_=ttmi_tt
Jordan Peele image:
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Us image 1:
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Us image 2:
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