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Nope (15)
Directed by Jordan Peele
AFTER redefining modern horror Oscar-winner Jordan Peele (Best Original Screenplay for Get Out, 2017) has set his sights on disrupting the summer event film with a disturbing and complex sci-fi social thriller.
It unpacks too many ideas to get your head round as it explores and critiques film-making and the film industry alongside the darker side of Tinsel Town which includes the exploitation and discardment of child stars, embodied here by former 1990s young child star Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun) — an owner of the local California Gold Rush theme park.
The beating heart of the film though is the relationship between brother and sister OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (a phenomenal Keke Palmer) Haywood as they inherit their father’s (Keith David) horse ranch in Agua Dulce California where they train animals for film and television.
OJ is an introvert and a man of few words while his sibling is a fast-talking extrovert who hates silences. The pair, however, bury their differences when they discover alien phenomena taking place on their land.
They employ the IT guy (Brandon Perea) from the local store to install cameras and reclusive but revered cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) to capture it on film.
Calculating correctly that if there isn't a picture to show it never happened. Emerald, a would be influencer, lives her life on social media and is obsessed with capturing the spectacle.
Kaluuya (Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Judas and the Black Messiah), who reunites with writer, producer and director Peele for the second time since Get Out, is extraordinary emoting everything he feels and thinks through his endless stares.
It is an innate and class act to observe. His silences speak volumes opposite the non-stop whirlwind performance of Palmer who holds her own wonderfully opposite him.
This is the most visually ambitious and largest in scale project that Peele has attempted. The problem lies in that the traumatic backstory of Jupe is more fascinating than the actual thriller itself and probably worthy of its own film.
Peele still proves an audacious and exciting film-maker, but what you end up with isn’t what you expected going in. In the words of OJ himself: Nope!
Out in cinemas 12 August
