Get Out

Get Out is what you get when you transform Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner into a horror film. First-time filmmaker Jordan Peele was looking to create the type of film he had never seen before and he did to a certain degree. It feels fresh and original not because it actually is but because of how he used the elements of other well known genre films in a way that presents itself as new. There are elements of the Sydney Poitier film above as well as The Stepford Wives, Rosemary’s Baby and even Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That doesn’t mean that Get Out is derivative or a knock off but the tone and story owe a great deal to these other films while at the same time taking those elements and spinning them into a unique and modern take on the genre. 

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is a young photographer in a serious relationship with Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). They’ve planned a trip to visit her parents but he’s nervous as she’s not told them Chris is black. She assures him that her parents won’t care as they are very progressive, her father, Dean Armitage, a neurosurgeon, (Bradley Whitfield), supposedly would have voted for Obama a third time if he could. Her mother, Missy (Catherine Keener), is a psychiatrist who mspecializes in hypnotherapy, something Rose thinks Chris should take advantage of to help him quit smoking. 

Upon arrival at their house things are immediately awkward. The parents are more than welcoming, too much so in fact. On top of this over-accommodating attitude their housekeeper Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and groundskeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson), both black, act stiff and awkward as if they are being controlled. At night, while walking through the house, Chris comes across Missy sitting, drinking a cup of tea. They talk for a minute before she pressures him into a hypnotherapy session that brings up his deep seated feelings of guilt over his mother’s death. She takes him even deeper to a dark void she calls the “Sunken Place,” where he floats helpless in a metaphorical outer space, seeing the real world through a television screen but helpless to communicate through it. He wakes up the next morning, uneasy about what has happened but also no longer having a desire to smoke.

A gathering of people on the family grounds brings even more unease for Chris. The people, mostly older white people, some with infirmities, further leaves Chris with uneasiness. The people look at him, handle him, and practically drool over his physical attributes like slave owners looking over new stock. The sole black attendee, aside from Walter and Georgina, is Logan King (LaKeith Stanfield), someone Chris thinks he recognizes but can’t quite place. He attempts to clandestinely snap a photo of the man but the flash triggers something in Logan who seems to come out of a trance and attacks Chris, screaming “Get Out.” Rose takes Chris away from the party and they have a heart-to-heart talk about going back home. Meanwhile, while Chris is away from the others, an auction is held where the object up for sale is none other than Chris himself.

Going any further into this plot dense film would be a disservice to those who have not yet see it. The trailers that released ahead of the film spoiled the big twist enough and took a lot of the steam out of an intriguing concept. Going into Get Out while knowing nothing about the plot is the most ideal way to experience it. It deftly tackles themes of racism, including the type of racism that comes from actively trying to not be racist. The white people in the film look upon the black people as objects of desire, physically superior to their own failing physicalities. The one man who does look on Chris without any regard to race sees in him something else he can offer instead. It’s a new look at consumerism that should be shocking but really isn’t.

To lighten up things, writer/director Jordan Peele introduces the character Rod Williams (Lil Rel Howery), a TSA agent and Chris’ best friend. Rod advises Chris not to go to the parent’s house and later, when hearing about the strange things going on, starts spouting conspiracy theories about the white people hypnotizing black people to become their sex slaves. It’s the perfect level of absurdist humor and misdirection as what he’s running off about comes across as a legitimate possibility given what we have already seen. It’s a red herring disguised as exposition and humor. Lil Rel is perfect in this role coming across as paranoid, someone not to take seriously and when he takes his theories to the authorities their reaction is laugh out loud funny.

Lil Rel isn’t the only one giving a great performance. There are no weak links in the cast here. Daniel Kaluuya’s wide-eyed, tears streaming down the face, visage was so iconic that it was used heavily in the advertising. The more things start to seem unhinged around him, the more Daniel sells his character’s growing suspicions. This is not overplayed in the slightest. Daniel earned himself an Academy Award nomination for this performance, something almost unheard of in this genre. The other main cast, Allison; Bradley and Catherine; are playing up their on screen personas, leaning into their relative typecasting to instill just a little bit of off-kilter to their characters. When the twist is revealed it is not too unexpected thanks to these dead on performances.

Unfortunately, the level of energy cannot be sustained through the finale and when all hell breaks loose in the final act it loses a great deal of what makes Get Out so much fun. The end of the film descends into genre clichés and tropes that disappoint. It becomes a generic splatterfest of brutal deaths and gore. This would not be as much of a disappointment had the rest of the film not been so good, though. Jordan Peele came out of comedy and what he’s done with this film is eye-opening. He wanted to make a film that he’d never seen before and he did that. It’s not totally unique but looks at things like racism and covetedness in such a way as to make it feel like it is. That, coupled with a whole slew of amazing performances makes this one of the most memorable films to come out of the 2010’s. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele

Best Director: Jordan Peele

Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele (won)

Best Actor: Daniel Kaluuya

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Release Date: February 24, 2017

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rated R

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root and Catherine Keener

Directed By: Jordan Peele