Universal Pictures
In the span of three films over five years, Jordan Peele has established himself as a director whose films you are eager to see as soon as they are announced. Peele transitioned easily from his comedy roots to more thought-provoking sociological horror with Get Out, Us and now Nope (we can easily forget his frustrating Twilight Zone revival), which also adds some sci-fi into the mix. Before plunging head first into the review, I will keep details about the plot a vague as possible as this is a film best gone into without knowing exactly what’s going on. So this will be as spoiler-free as possible to preserve Peele’s vision.
Nope has two unrelated storylines that converge. The main story centers on Otis Haywood Jr., or OJ (Daniel Kaluuya), the son of a Hollywood horse wrangler (Keith David) who dies under very bizarre circumstances as objects fall from the sky. With the senior Haywood’s death, OJ has to keep the family business operating, fulfilling contracts with production companies that require horses. OJ, however, prefers to remain in the background so he needs to depend on his somewhat estranged sister Emerald, or Em (Keke Palmer), to be the face the business even though she makes it clear that this is just a side hustle for her grander Hollywood ambitions. The two do their best to reconcile their not very well defined past — perhaps the rift came when she left the family business for greener pastures — but find themselves more dependent on each other after more mysterious events begin to occur at their ranch, and they enlist the help of Fry’s Electronics employee Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), to try to capture proof of what is going on … even if they have to manufacture it for themselves with the help of Hollywood cameraman Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott). The B-story focuses on Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park, a former child actor on a sitcom that starred a chimpanzee and ended in some brutal emotional trauma for him. But Jupe has channeled his trauma into a tourist attraction called Jupiter’s Claim, a Wild West village/tourist trap. For his shows, Jupe has been buying horses from OJ, who has had to sell them to keep his business going. There is obvious tension between the two men, and once things escalate on the ranch OJ figures out exactly why Jupe keeps buying his horses. Both men, however, and those attached to them, learn that what they face is more terrifying than they could ever imagine.
By the end of the movie, which some may find a bit frustratingly incomplete by not wrapping everything up with a tidy bow, you’re probably going to be asking yourself just what exactly was Peele trying to say with this film. Parts of it seem like a good old-fashioned sci-fi/horror flick from the 1980s, albeit with a much larger budget, while there is obviously some social commentary at work here. Is the film an indictment of Hollywood for its failure to properly acknowledge the contributions of Black performers and technicians? It certainly seems to be part of the message, subtle as it may be (or not). It could also be seen as a comment on Hollywood’s treatment of animal performers. Or we could just be reading more into it than Peele intended, but looking at his past work I think everything we might consider the film comments on was intentional. Aside from the film’s message(s), Peele knows how to drum up the suspense as the situation at the Haywood ranch, and at Jupiter’s Claim, escalates particularly with one scene set during a torrential downpour that is sure to have your heart beating out of your chest. Peele and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema also capture some absolutely breathtaking shots of the Southern California vistas that demand to be seen on the largest screen possible. The visual effects crew do some amazing work that often looks subtle but had to be extremely difficult to pull off. Peele also manages to pull off a terrific jump scare, that nearly jolted me out of my seat, with zero anticipation that it’s coming.
Aside from Peele’s assured direction, the success of the film really falls on the cast who have to make you believe in what is transpiring on screen. Kaluuya gives a subtle, almost understated performance, dealing with the various situations facing him with a succinct ‘Nope’. He’s a man who prefers to keep his head down, learning to never look an animal in the eye, and that serves him well in his situation. His quietness serves to balance the other characters that orbit around him. Palmer is the more boisterous Haywood sibling, often loud and brash, always looking for a way to cash in on something but is ready to fight for her and her brother’s survival. Perea is a delight as the electronics store employee who is more wrapped up in the sad state of his love life than his work, but quickly figures out why OJ and Em want so much video surveillance equipment and quickly ingratiates himself into their operation. Yeun’s performance as Jupe is one of mystery. We’re never really sure how Jupe went from child star to Wild West park owner or how the trauma he experienced as a child plays into the events that are occurring in the area between Jupiter’s Claim and the Haywood ranch, or why he hangs on to that childhood trauma with a hidden room next to his office that is a mini-museum dedicated to his old sitcom (there’s also the question about a shoe that is never addressed, nor is the out-of-the-blue appearance of his former co-star/’first childhood crush’). Despite his not very well fleshed out character, it’s still great to see Yeun’s career thriving after his time on The Walking Dead. It’s not easy for an actor so closely associated with one role on a TV series that has become a pop culture phenomenon to escape that character, so kudos to Yeun for taking that ball and rolling with it to even greater heights.
Over all, I found Nope to be very enjoyable, always engrossing, sometimes terrifying, gorgeous to look at, perhaps a bit weak in the ending with a few more questions than answers, but it is still worth a look on the big screen, preferably with a large audience to really experience some of the terror and exhilaration as a group.
Nope has a run time of 2 hours 15 minutes, and is rated R for language throughout and some violence/bloody images.
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