Two years ago, writer and director Jordan Peele impressed critics and the movie-watching public alike with his debut feature "Get Out." They were so impressed that that film was nominated in the Oscars for four major categories: Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay (which it won). This year, Peele is back with a new project and of course, we all eagerly want to know if this is a worthy followup to the high standards his debut film set.
Gabe and Adelaide Wilson took their two kids on a summer trip to the beach in Sta. Cruz. Adelaide did not feel comfortable there because of a traumatic experience in childhood when she got lost in the Hall of Mirrors in the boardwalk amusement park of that same beach. One night, however, their rest house was broken into by what looked like a family of four who were all dressed in red overalls and carried wicked scissors. Upon closer view, the intruders looked exactly like the four of them.
Academy Award winning actress Lupita N'yongo totally owned the role of Adelaide Wilson, the mother who, despite her own traumatic past, will never allow anything bad to happen to her kids even if she was scared to death herself. This was a double victory for N'yongo as she also played Adelaide's tormentor Red in a very distinct portrayal. Red just so happened to be the leader of the Tethered (which was how the doppelgangers called themselves).
N'yongo's limpid big eyes were sometimes all we can on the screen, and they convey so much of her soul. We see Adelaide develop from fearful timid victim to enraged gungho fighter. On the other side, we can feel the depth of Red's seething emotions bottled up all those years, building up to that moment when she finally led her Tethered brethren out to wreak terror on the surface. Like it was for Daniel Kaluuya in "Get Out," it won't be far-fetched to think that N'yongo might just snag her second Oscar nomination.
Winston Duke portrayed Gabe Wilson served more as the source of goofy comic relief dad than the reliable savior dad. Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora, their eldest daughter hooked on her phone, while Evan Alex played Jason Wilson, the youngest son who liked wearing a demon mask over his face. Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler, Gabe's best friend with whom he had an unspoken competition, while Elisabeth Moss played John's chattty wife Kitty. Real life twins Cali and Noelle Sheldon played Gwen and Maggie, Kitty and Josh's cartwheeling twin daughters. All of these actors played dual roles as well like N'yongo.
On the debit side, there were scenes which not easy to see because they were too dark. The film started with a 1986 TV ad about "Hands Across America," which somehow resurfaced again towards the end, but I am at a loss what it was supposed to mean in the context of this story. I would have liked some mythology about how the population of doppelgangers underground came about. There are some plot points which may challenge logic when Peele tried to inject a twist or two. Unlike the rabbits of "The Favourite," I am not quite sure what those rabbits were all about here in "Us."
If "Get Out" was criticized about being more about race than about horror, "Us" is frankly all-out horror. The suspense was unbearable here with the deliberate slow pace and masterful editing. That really eerie musical score I thought was one of the best. most original and most effective scores I heard from a horror film. The eclectic musical soundtrack which swung from artists as diverse as Beach Boys to NWA was a winner in my book. With the humor about middle class America in healthy doses, "Us" was quite an entertaining film even if you're all tensed up. 8/10
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