Nope
Much like M. Night Shyamalan, Jordan Peele has started to condition us to expect a certain type of film from him, so when he doesn’t deliver said type of film, we’re thrown off-guard. Though not entirely devoid of the social commentary and themes he explored in “Get Out” and “Us,” “Nope” is much more straight-forward in its intentions as a film. That doesn’t mean it is entirely successful in its intentions, but the more I think about it, sans the expectations going in, I think it works better than I thought. I might need another viewing to see where I land. There will be spoilers throughout this review, though.
“Nope” begins with OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his father, Otis Sr. (Keith David), on their isolated family ranch. Otis Sr. runs a horse training and animal wrangling business for Hollywood productions. Otis Sr. is riding on one of their horses when debris of various kinds falls from the sky. Some of it hits him, and he dies; turns of, it was a nickle through his head- there’s a key lodged in the horse’s backside. Cut to six months later, and OJ and his sister, Emerald (Keke Palmer), are struggling to keep the business going while dealing with debt. When unusual happenings continue at the ranch, it’s hard for the duo to know what to make of it, other than maybe some money to keep things going.
Actually, the first thing we see in “Nope” is the devastation on a TV show set after a chimpanzee, who was the star of the show, goes on a rampage. Blood and bodies are everywhere, and one shoe is standing up on its side, almost as if pointed towards something. The TV show featured a child star named Ricky Park (Steven Yeun), who runs a local western theme park, but isn’t above profiting off of the tragedy he witnessed on the set that day. He’s bought some of the Haywood’s horses in the past few months; he respects what they’re going through, and is honoring previous arrangements, but he’s a showman, first and foremost. That’s probably not the best thing to be, right now.
In a way, there are two halves to this story, one regarding how whatever is happening is making the animals react, vs. how the humans in the story react. The TV show incident feels like it’s supposed to be an earlier, random piece of violence much like what the Haywoods are dealing with on the ranch, but that’s never really connected. The TV show violence is superbly shot and staged by Peele, and one of the most terrifying moments in the film, but it feels like a “Twilight Zone” story interrupting the larger narrative of the Haywoods. Whatever narrative meat Peele’s film has, it’s when it focuses on OJ and Emerald. This brother and sister are outsiders who hope to be recognized for their family’s long-time contributions in the industry; you see, they are descendants of the stunt man/animal wrangler from the first example of moving pictures, two seconds showing a black jockey on a horse. They are derisively called “Hollywood royalty” by a crew member on a commercial one of their horses is supposed to be in at the beginning, but you can tell they aren’t treated the way a lot of legacy in Hollywood is, and I feel like that’s the big commentary Peele is going for hear- how celebrity rarely extends beyond the names above the title, and really doesn’t get to those whose names are only in the end credits. That’s why Ricky being a relatively big part of the story makes sense.
Peele is working on a larger scale than we saw in “Get Out” and “Us.” The film begins with a quote from Nahum in the Old Testament- “I will cast abominable filth at you, make you vile, make you a spectacle.” Spectacle is what makes “Nope” pop. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema’s camera gives us images that project more than the screenplay sometimes does; when the film expands to the IMAX format there are set pieces and shots that are as effectively terrifying and suspenseful as any horror movie we’ve seen this year, and as filled with ambition as any sci-fi film in recent memory. The sound mix, including Michael Abels’s score, is the other piece of the puzzle, and it is as immersive as Chris Nolan’s mixes are, but also more fully capable of being understood than his are. The third act might be my favorite part. By that point, the mystery is solved, and it’s a matter of OJ and Emerald trying to do the impossible, and get the phenomenon on camera, which has proven elusive. They reach out to a cinematographer (Michael Wincott) from the commercial at the beginning, and he is a practical artist, but also one of ambition, willing to chase the impossible, at all costs. Along with Kaluuya, Palmer and Yeun, Wincott deserves mention for his strong, oddly soulful work in this film; his singularly-gravely voice gives us moments of impact in a way that reminds me (possibly because of the “Jaws” IMAX reissue trailer in front of this film, admittedly) of Robert Shaw’s Quint. It’s interesting to see the ways the supporting actors- including Brandon Perea as an IT guy who helps them set up camera equipment at the ranch- bounce off of the siblings, who couldn’t have more distinctive personalities. I love every moment Kaluuya and Palmer are on-screen, though; I’m just instantly drawn to them as performers, and they make me care about these two so much.
In a way, I think “Nope” might be the most accessible of Peele’s films in how it leans into spectacle, and doesn’t go for the uncomfortable horror ideas and images “Get Out” and “Us” do. That’s also why, I think, it might be his “worst” film, even though, as I wrap up this review, I find myself really liking it quite a bit, even more than I did after I left the theatre. Although all three films are made by Universal, “Get Out” and “Us” feel like risk-taking indies compared to “Nope,” which has the scope of a “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” or “Super 8.” “Nope” is well worth saying “yes” to, however. I might do so again in the future, sooner rather than later.
