‘Nope’ harkens back to the thoughtful summer spectacle
Anchored by terrific visuals, fantastic performances and stellar script-work, Jordan Peele’s latest film is in many ways his strongest yet
With just three films completed in the director’s seat, Jordan Peele has effortlessly cut himself a section of the horror genre pie. To think of a ‘Jordan Peele film’ is already to envision a certain kind of film — a horror romp with poignant commentary that also pays surprising respect to the director’s background in comedy. After Get Out’s breakout performance and the similarly well-received Us (which I have come round on a lot since my initial review) comes Nope, another terrific outing that’s not afraid to provide commentary on the very people watching it.
What I think makes Nope so interesting is the way in which it approaches its themes. I wouldn’t say they’re any more or less engaging than the ideas presented in Get Out or Us, but I do think Peele approaches the subject matter here more abstractly in a way that invokes discussion. The film primarily follows OJ and Em Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, respectively) as they come face to face with an inexplicable extraterrestrial force that threatens their dwindling business as film industry horse wranglers after the mysterious death of their father.
Yet even my saying that feels far too simplistic. Nope is one of those painful films to write about in a non-spoilery way since watching it so intrinsically invites discussion in a way that few big films do nowadays. Even if less obvious than his previous work, the way that Peele explores the themes in the film is remarkable, weaving seemingly disconnected plot points into one another with astounding ease.
Primarily, the film discusses the relationship between spectacle and exploitation. Peele is acutely aware that awful events and tragedies are a phenomenon we seemingly can’t take our eyes off; he described the film’s core theme as “the human addiction to the spectacle and the monetization of it,” at the premiere. The most obvious way the film explores this is, of course, through the alien. The characters of the film are fiending to see the UFO and, importantly, capture imagery of it to prove its existence to the world. It’s very interesting that the core conflict of the film for the Haywoods isn’t about beating the creature, but proving its terrifying existence.
In contrast to the Haywoods’ approach is that of Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park, a former child star who runs a Western theme park just down the road from the Haywood ranch. Jupe, played with usual excellence by Steven Yeun, is the character who most embodies the themes in Nope as the film explores his life. Funnily enough, Nope’s most disturbing sequence doesn’t come from any with the alien creature, but rather an earthly horror. Jupe was apart of a 90s show called ‘Gordy’s Home’ as a child, which starred a variety of chimpanzees who played the titular Gordy. One day, due to being startled by a popped balloon, one of these chimpanzees horrifically attacked members of the cast which Jupe was there to witness.
Yet, years later, Jupe has a room dedicated to Gordy’s Home to appeal to the new cult following that the ill-fated show had. How does that sort of thing affect Jupe? As Nope unravels, it’s clear that it drastically affects his approach to the way he believes people like to be entertained, considering he also devises a way in which the alien can be exploited that is vastly different in approach to the Haywoods. The alien is the newest spectacle that has gripped the characters, and their actions are reflective of trying to monetise and know that spectacle in a way that it cannot be known. Nope is in part about the horror of filmmaking and viewing and the intrinsically exploitative nature of both practices. Peele asks a number of questions — how does that exploitation affect animals, people, those watching? Rather than explicitly answer these questions, Peele understands that leaving you pondering rather than knowing is highly effective for thematic delivery.
Peele also continues to prove himself as a director with a great sense of visual flair and style with likely his best looking film yet with Nope. Gorgeously shot by frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema on 65mm IMAX cameras, the film possesses a distinct visual style that clearly draws on the films that legendary directors like Spielberg made through the 70s, 80s and 90s. The whole film is shot with laser precision that always serves the script and performances in a way that truly showcases Peele’s honest-to-god talent for directing. Michael Abels’ score is also highly effective in adding to Nope’s tight presentation in its creation of both dread and excitement at the appropriate moments. There were multiple moments where I felt the film looked and sounded so good that I had no choice but to think to myself “this is why I love the movies!”
All the performances here are also fantastic, balancing the comedic and horrific as expertly as Peele does in writing. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer both shine as they bounce off each other with a chemistry that truly sells the sense of familial bond that’s required of these characters. Steven Yeun is in the film less than perhaps I’d like, but regardless the man showcases his phenomenal acting chops as he gives life to Jupe in a layered way that conveys a disturbing uncertainty of his motives. I haven’t even been able to discuss many of the supporting characters, like Brandon Perea’s camera-installation guy Angel or Michael Wincott’s professionally vague cinematographer Antlers (yes, that is his name), but their performances and characters are up to a similar level of excellence as the rest of the film. The focus on cameras as integral parts of these two characters serve to further convey Nope’s analysis on the strange relationship between the viewer, filmmaker and subject in a continually affecting way.
Nope is one of those quality high budget films that are an increasingly dying breed. The Spielberg comparisons that Peele has made himself are apt considering his film belongs in the same league as verified summer classics like Jurassic Park in both its filmmaking and themes. Yet Peele still makes his own definition of this kind of film, using the spectacle of his own work as criticism of it and those watching. Nope is an audacious concoction of the macabre, terrific filmmaking and poignant commentary that results in the year’s most electrifying cinema experience so far.
9/10
