Us

Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Directed by: Jordan Peele
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A family is terrorized when creepy doppelgangers appear. They try to understand what to make of it and soon suspect it's part of a larger plot.

Review:

Tim: Jordan Peele set the world on fire with his directorial debut, Get Out. I thought that was a unique, expertly crafted horror movie that brilliantly touched on serious social issues while creeping the audience out as well. However, it never felt great to me. It was incredibly effective, but had some limitations. I could say the exact same thing about his follow-up film. Us retains that trademark blend of creepiness while telling a story that contains much deeper social commentary than you would ever expect from a horror movie. Peele has now delivered two strong movies that feel very much like conceptual sequels, even though the stories themselves are quite different. I want this review to be positive because I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I do need to stress with ambitious movies like this, that it doesn't quite reach greatness, either.

Us is a weird movie. The basic heart of the film is that this normal family is terrorized when these odd doppelgangers of themselves show up. They look like each member of the family, but something is very, very wrong with that. That idea alone is worth exploring and Peele takes the film in so many unexpected directions. It feels like this would have been a compelling horror movie if it was just about a family verses their evil doubles. However, Peele goes much deeper than that. I was a bit surprised by how much of the doppelgangers' backstory he revealed. This is where he's able to push his social commentary.

On the one hand, it's brilliant what Peele did here. What the doppelgangers represent, where they came from and how they were created- there's a lot of layers and complexity to this story. I loved the ability to ruminate on the idea of who "us" is and who makes up "them". It's super cool stuff and I love that Peele uses horror movies to get us to think about society and classes and the role of government in our civilization. Without going into too much detail and spoiling the movie, I'll say that he puts together a very thoughtful interpretation of these horrific events. This is a movie that makes you think while simultaneously scaring you. There's not enough of those kinds of movies, so I give the film and Peele a lot of credit.

Here's the other side, though. It's super cool what Peele attempted here. And he almost pulls it off, but he doesn't quite stick the landing. He asks some big questions and tries to answer them. As the mysteries are uncovered towards the end of the movie, it doesn't quite all add up. I felt like I saw what Peele intended and I got his message, but it didn't quite work out as brilliantly as he intended it to. There's some difficult complexity to the film. It makes you think about it, but it doesn't all add up. It's too easy to poke holes in the story and the explanations we're given. I understand that asking logical questions about the doubles is besides the point. The point of the movie is to treat the characters and the story as an allegory. It's just that while some cool ideas are here, Peele fumbles the execution a bit. It doesn't detract from enjoying the film, but it prevents the movie from achieving it's full potential. It feels like Peele got 80% of the way there, but couldn't quite pull everything together seamlessly. Still, this movie is more ambitious than the multitude of films we get in a year, so I don't want to complain too much.

The cast is really strong. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual roles they played. Lupita Nyong'o is such a talented actress and she was wonderful here. I actually thought her performance as the double made the movie. In her two roles, Nyong'o was both relatable and someone we could care about and root for, while also being creepy and frightening. The range she showed here was terrific and it was a reminder of what a great actress she is. Winston Duke was really good as well. He was likeable in the role and he worked well opposite Nyong'o. He brought a lot of humor to the film. It was fun seeing Elisabeth Moss here, although her role wasn't very exciting. The rest of the cast is all good, but this film is very much about Nyong'o and Duke and it works because their performances are so good.

Although I wish I loved Us more, I have to say that this only further cements Peele's legacy as one of the most promising writers and directors working today. His first two films got people talking and I thought about them both long after finishing them. Peele is obviously talented and has a lot to say. I have no doubt that his greatest work is yet to come. This film was a big success.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



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