Rating: 5 / 5 stars
In Jordan Peele’s (“Key & Peele”) directing debut, the immensely powerful social thriller “Get Out,” has been 2017’s wake-up call to the horrors behind American society. Peele’s artful writing style established a broad way of discussing highly sensitive topics on the big screen. Recently nominated for a whopping four Oscar nominations for Best Lead Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture, “Get Out” mirrors a darker version of films such as “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Stepford Wives” that make statements about today’s world with the use of theme and foreshadowing.
The protagonist, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya, “Black Panther”), is off to meet the parents of his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams, “Girls”) for the weekend, which takes an unexpected turn.
“Get Out” opens with different photographs that show Chris’ awareness of his surroundings of his neighborhood. As the couple embark on their journey upstate, the music changes into a more suspenseful tone as they continue to approach the house. This makes it quite evident that danger is slowly approaching.
The story flows with ease and latency as events occur and cause one to question the characters’ moral values. The film is structured around the theme of racism in American culture. Peele’s direction frames the way the story is told through the use of sly dialogue by adding intensity to each scene to shape the film as whole. Chris is challenged and questioned because of his abilities as a black man. The story builds as the audience witnesses the events in Chris’ perspective adding to the ardency of his situations. Peele cleverly creates meaningful messages by referencing historical elements that push Chris’ character development within the film. Each event leading to the mystery plays an important role in discussing the horrors many African Americans face living in America. The tools used to bring Chris down are controlled by the Armitage family, who represent the stereotypical liberal middle-class family. Peele uses the family to discuss the racism that lies on liberals’ ignorance and beliefs of black culture, especially when he is first introduced to them. Instead of trying to understand Chris and his culture they choose to try to immerse themselves in Chris’ culture.
Dean Armitage (Bradley Whitford, “The Post”) tries to establish a relationship with Chris by talking with him about things like sports and changing the way he speaks, like saying “thang” instead of “thing.” Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener, “Nostalgia”) offers to hypnotize Chris to cure his cigarette addiction. As Missy stirs the silver spoon, it represents the privilege the family has against Chris in American society. The close-up shot of presents Chris discomfort as his eyes water to the memory where he felt stuck. In the film, this is referred to as “the sunken place.” representing the institutionalized racism that is present in America.
The film is the result of Peeles’ feelings towards a “post-racial’ America after Barack Obama’s presidency. The consequences and actions each character make give a better understanding of how the past is often reflected in the future through people. Peele demonstrates the perfect way to curate a social thriller by instilling strong themes and cinematic messages that resonate with many people of color living in America.
Image from Universal Pictures via YouTube.com
