Film Review: Nope

Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea
Running time: 130 minutes

Jordan Peele is back, after two critically acclaimed hits (Get Out and Us), he is back and on a larger scale than ever before. It doesn't take long until a feeling of mysterious unease is presented to us, before the opening credits roll Otis Haywood Sr is killed by a nickel that mysteriously falls out of the sky. His son OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) is the only person to witness this bizarre tragedy and, despite the police and media proclaiming it must’ve fallen out of a plane – he believes that something else must’ve happened. Following his father’s death OJ and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) continue to run the family business, they run a horse wrangling company that tames and trains horses to be used in Hollywood productions. However, neither of them have as much experience as their father, and with him gone, the business struggles to stay afloat. 

When Emerald comes to stay at the family ranch after a job they worked on goes badly, they start to notice uncanny events happening in the valley they reside in. A flying object is consuming horses and spitting out inorganic matter afterwards. Desperate to get their much-deserved fame and fortune the Haywood siblings conduct a plan to capture footage of the UFO that they can use to sell to the media. They view this as their way to create something that no one can take away from them, as well solving the mystery of what might have killed their father. Along the way we are introduced to a myriad of strange characters such as Ricky Park’s (Steven Yuen) a traumatised child actor who owns a Western themed adventure park, who also has an interest in these unexplainable sightings. 

Nope is the largest scale film Peele has made so far, yet he has maintained - and in fact even amplified - his ability to generate both bone-chilling scares and great comedy without it feeling jarring. Whether it is an alien sighting in the stables or humans trying to escape the whirling grasps of the mysterious alien, there is a frightening unease that other horror directors aren’t able to tap into, especially not in a large scale blockbuster like this. Unlike many modern horror directors Peele doesn’t throw exposition at you or feel the need to hand crank metaphors into the narrative; instead, he crafts scene after scene of genuinely nerve-wrecking cinema without telling you exactly what you are seeing. Because of this, the film slowly spoon feeds you information that builds tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout its runtime. 

Comparisons to both Spielberg and Shyamalan were being made minutes after the first trailer dropped; however, these are definitely accurate and clear inspiration for Peele – especially War of the Worlds and Signs. Both directors understand how to inject large scale blockbusters with their own style and thematic messages and Peele stands absolutely head to toe with both of them in this aspect. He is great at conjuring a dazzling spectacle that, whilst being terrifying, demands your absolute attention and makes sure your eyes are glued to the screen. Whilst the visual imagery of the film is fantastic, Peele and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema make some incredible compositions, the sound design is what really drives the atmosphere of the film. Whether it is echoing screams, the gentle rattle of the wind or Michael Abjoels’ brilliant score – each sound builds up the tension very effectively. 

Using the Haywood’s family business as a basis for the film, Peele taps into the legacy of Hollywood in a variety of different ways; how Black people’s contributions to cinema has remained largely overlooked, the way that people will risk their lives working in dangerous conditions to create something that will generate fame, the real world repercussions of using animals and children when creating films and how the legacy of the West can be replicated by commodities (seen through the contrast between the Haywood’s real ranch vs Ricky’s reconstructed theme park). Nope has a lot of themes and ideas that interrogate the way in which society watches and consumes entertainment whilst also providing a deeply entertaining film – which is the ultimate contradiction at the root of the film. 

Everyone in this film is fantastic but the sibling duo of Palmer and Kaluuya is the beating heart of the film. Their contrasting personalities work so well when bouncing off each other. Palmer is fantastic as the charismatic and humorous face of the business, whilst Kaluuya nails the lonely rancher with his expressive face that is capable of showcasing emotion with a simple eye movement. Both actors deliver the emotional beats of the story fantastically which gives strength to the more sentimental aspects of the story. Another highlight is Michael Wincott, a Hollywood cinematographer, whose raspy voice and negative demeanour make him an enigmatic character who you never really trust but can’t help feel enamoured by. 

No doubt by now Jordan Peele has captured the hearts of millions of people around the world and Nope is only going to further increase that grip. It is an incredibly well executed blockbuster that combines authentic scares, a gripping mystery, heartfelt family drama and well executed comedy with an ease that is rare to see. 

Did you know? Stephen Yeun's character Jupe has a large pair of metal scissors on his desk which are the same scissors prominently featured in Jordan Peele's previous film Us

Nope is screening at Broadway Cinema now