Get Out is directed by Jordan Peele; it is his directorial debut. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, and Catherine Keener. The film was released theatrically in the United States in February 2017, and it has gotten a theatrical rerelease, likely due to recent Oscar nominations.
Chris Washington is an African-American photographer who has a happy relationship with his white girlfriend, Rose. One weekend, they drive out of the city to visit Rose’s parents. But upon arriving. Chris notices something is not right, with household servants and visitors behaving in a strange demeanor. Following a hypnotic experience, he tries to piece the facts together, but quickly comes to the realization that there may be more to this household and family than he originally believed.
Get Out is definitely a unique film; I certainly have not seen another movie like this. I unfortunately missed the film during its original theatrical release last year, but was able to catch it during its rerelease in anticipation of the Academy Awards. The film has ambition and attempts to bring something new to the table. In some ways, it succeeds, but it falls short due to tonal inconsistencies.
As far as the positive qualities of the film, the movie has a fantastic cast, including its leads Kaluuya and Williams, who have great chemistry together, and seeing the film build to its conclusion and how it impacts them is something interesting, to say the least. The supporting cast fares just as well, including Bradley Whitford as Rose’s father, Stephen Root (the voice of Bill on King of the Hill) as a blind art gallery owner, and Lil Rel Howery as a wisecracking TSA agent that also happens to be Chris’ best friend (if the producers are reading this review, please give this character a spin-off!)
Unfortunately, the elements of the film never quite come together the way they should, despite the ambition of the cast and the crew. Essentially, the main issue I have here is the same one that I had with another Blumhouse production, Happy Death Day. The film tries to mash together too many genres, and cannot decide what kind of a movie it wants to be. The opening scenes of the film leading up to the arrival at the Armitage Family house imply that the film will be a political/racial satire of sorts. The scenes of suspense later on are genuinely creepy, but the scenes with Lil Rel Howery as the TSA agent are laugh-out-loud funny and feel like they belong in a more conventional comedy (a comedy I admittedly wouldn’t mind seeing). The problem here is that, while each element in the movie shows potential, they can never quite come together, and the tone of the movie is all over the place, throughout its entire duration. Early scenes of the film are a little too political, as well.
Get Out has some great performances from a multi-talented cast, but the movie can’t quite decide if it wants to be a political satire, an updated version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a horror movie, or a horror comedy, and as such, the tone is all over the place. The film has since gotten a home release, so it is definitely recommended as a rental title if nothing else.
Rating: Two out of four stars.
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