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| Lupita Nyong'o in Us. Image courtesy Universal Pictures. |
There
is something bothersome about Us,
a slow dawning sense of terror that just lingers for a spell once the
curtain closes and the lights go up. The film otherwise lacks a true
moment of shock or terror – the jump scares are minimal, and the
humor is ample enough to mitigate some of the traditionally scary
moments – but goodness are the implications of Jordan Peele's film
absolutely awful to dream about. Even as Us
is hampered by ambitions it can't quite reach, it excels brilliantly
at planting some dreadful thoughts and allowing them to grow.
Us
stars, and is often carried by, the enigmatic Lupita Nyong'o. She
plays Adelaide Wilson, a normal mom on vacation in Santa Cruz with
her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright
Joseph), and son Jason (Evan Alex). It's a typical beach vacation –
sun, sand, copious amounts of booze with friends Kitty (a great
Elisabeth Moss) and Josh (Tim Heidecker) – except for a dark cloud
that hangs over Adelaide. She has a bad childhood memory of running
into another version of herself, and she can't escape the feeling she
hasn't escaped her other self. Her fears come to fruition when their
home is invaded by the Wilson's doppelgangers, who have murderous
intentions for Adelaide and her family.
As
shown in Us
and Get
Out,
Peele has an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of horror. He's an
expert at evoking discomfort even amid what are otherwise friendly
and bright locations – a busy boardwalk filled with games and rides
is just as terrifying as the spookiest of houses in Peele's hands.
Something sinister lurks behind every corner, which works
conceptually with Us,
a movie whose universe contains a shallow mirror just below a vibrant
surface. The Wilson family can't trust the upper-middle class shell
they've created for themselves because right below the surface are
the forgotten wishing for a taste of what they have.
And,
well, there's a lot that can be read into that idea. Us
could very well serve as a political statement, centering on the
subjugation of a class of people who aren't even worth considering.
The film could be a comment about the illusions of wealth, or about
the strength of family. It can be about the emptiness of life in a
technological age, about the ferociousness of motherhood, about
fatalism, about the complexities of the soul. Peele's films are read
as much as they are watched – he's just as skilled at planting
clues as he is setting atmosphere – yet the message for Us
is a little muddled. Peele has a lot to say about a lot of subjects
with Us,
and he can't deliver on everything he wants to say. The enormous
ambition he has with this film is admirable and worth an attempt to
emulate, but his drive toward divine profundity comes at the expense
of a thematic direction and a modicum of sanity.
Us
suffers a little from a tonal funk. The film relies a lot on its
sense of humor – it's often as funny as it is scary – but the
jokes undercut some of the vital gravitas of the horror. Moments
designed for silent awe are infiltrated with uproarious laughter from
the audience because they aren't quite sure which direction the film
is leading them toward. The divide between humor and fear is often
quite thin – a point Peele is very well aware of – but the film
can't shed its jokiness enough for some of the horror to truly hit.
Well,
at least in the moment. The brilliance of Us
lies in the after scare, the residual fear that boomerangs back with
more force than it was thrown. The final twist creates
a rabbit hole of horrible thoughts and possibilities about the very
nature of humanity and the lack of clarity between good and evil.
It's a disturbing note to end a film on, the kind that results in a
few chills and a restless night miles away from the theater. The
point of Us
is to leave its audience perturbed by these ideas. It wants to
exploit the dark thoughts that reside in the depths of the mind and
bring them to the surface, haunting the viewer like the best horror
films should.
Review: Four and a half of Five
Stars
Click here to see the trailer.
Rating: R
Run time: 116 minutes
Genre: Horror
tl;dr
What
Worked: Lupita
Nyong'o, Elisabeth Moss, Atmosphere, Implications
What
Fell Short: Imbalanced
tone, uncontrolled ambition
What
To Watch As Well:
Get
Out,
C.H.U.D.
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