Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele
Cast. Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon
Seen on: 26.3.2019
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Plot:
The Wilson family – Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), Gabe (Winston Duke) and their children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex) – are heading to a beach house for their vacation. There they meet their friends, the Tyler family (Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon). But instead of spending a relaxing time, Adelaide is reminded of the time she got lost at an amusement park when she was a child, when Jason wanders off himself. And then at night, when things seem to have calmed down a little, The Wilson family finds themselves facing another family that looks just like them, but isn’t in the slightest – and they have come to take their place.
Us really is a fantastic film. Both honestly scary and funny, it uses its talented cast to its full advantages and is definitely a worthy follow-up to Get Out for Peele.
Us is a complex film that introduces many layers of meaning to its story – there are really many ways to interpret it which makes it rather challenging and maybe leaves you with a sense that your questions remain unanswered by the film. But I’d say it’s the good kind of unanswered, the one where you want to keep ruminating on a film’s possible meanings.
And you have to take those ruminations with you out of the film because as long as it lasts, there is no time to think too deeply about it all. Too much is going on, too deep does the film pull you into its world.
The film manages perfectly too switch between plain scariness and actual sense of humor, with Winston Duke getting the biggest laughs. But he can also be scary when the film calls for it – and the same goes like thrice for Nyong’o. Dammit, that woman can act. Elizabeth Moss, too, deserves an extra mention here. Her role is smaller, but she works it to the last.
I also really liked the music, both the song choices and the remixes (starting with the awesome song for the trailer) that underscored (no pun intended) everything perfectly. There may have been a couple of minutes that could have been shortened from the film, but that really is nothing but nitpicking on my part – Us is an excellent film, no matter how you look at it.
Summarizing: awesome and damn scary.
