‘Get Out’ Review

Race is always a very touchy subject to tackle when making a film. Normally, it is used in a dramatic tone to show how the issue of race affects society. In Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, he combines the issue of racism with psychological horror to create a fantastic blend. 

Plot

Get Out tells the story of Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a man who is in a relationship with Rose (Allison Williams). Rose takes Chris to go visit her parents without telling them he’s black. 

Once at her parent’s house, Chris starts noticing that the people there are acting very weird, especially the two black people who work for Rose’s parents. Chris becomes suspicious and questions the family’s intentions. From there, things start to get crazy.

Characters

Kaluuya is fantastic in this movie. He really does a great job at showing how uncomfortable it is to be one of the only people of a certain race surrounded by people of a different one. 

His character also deals with something traumatic that happened to him in the past and he does a great job making the audience sympathetic towards him. Kaluuya can also be seen in an episode of Black Mirror which makes sense because this movie is something that is straight out of that show.

Williams is also really good in the movie. She simply wants her family to get along with Chris and she and Kaluuya have really good chemistry. Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener play the two parents of Rose and they both do a great job. They both do a really good job at playing characters who seem nice but are really creepy and bizarre at times.

One of the highlights of this movie was Lil Rel Howery who plays the best friend of Chris. He is awesome in this movie. He plays the comedic character in the movie and every scene he’s in is hysterical. He nails the comedy that he has to deliver.

Direction

This is the directorial debut for Jordan Peele and he is off to a tremendous start in his career. He did a great job at building suspense throughout the film and making the setting really creepy. I really liked how he was able to mix thriller and comedy and made it work. 

None of the comedic scenes took me out of the movie. They played in the movie really well. I also liked how every little detail in this movie tied back into the plot. There is a lot of little dialogue pieces that explain later events in the movie.

I also liked how he dealt with the issue of race in this movie. He provided his own perspective about it without getting too preachy. It led to good social commentary that really makes you think after you leave the theater.

My only issue with the movie is that I think the movie took a little bit too long in setting up the fact that something weird is going on. A lot of the movie is setting up for the big reveal at the end and it could have been a little less drawn out. However, the reveal in the third act is fantastic. The entire third act is relentless and immensely entertaining.

Final Thoughts

Jordan Peele really hit the jackpot with this movie. It has everything. It has action, comedy, drama, suspense, and horror. It even has good social commentary that has strong relevance today. It is a movie that tackles a controversial issue in a unique and refreshing way.

Rating: 5/5