Nope

Nope (2022)

Jordan Peele’s follow up to the wonderfully throaty Us and the creepy Oscar flirt Get Out sees him team up again with Oscar winning Londoner Daniel Kaluuya and battle UFO’s. No I didn’t see that coming either.

Set on a snoozy Californian ranch, the Haywood family train and provide horses to the entertainment industry, when an eery calm envelops the land and the clouds fatally spit out coins and other human paraphernalia. The humans are suddenly being toyed with. A compelling subplot, told in flashback, demonstrates the devastating consequences of using wild animals for entertainment. Make your own parallels here.

Peele successfully employs a similar tactic to Spielberg in Jaws. The unknown predator being far more threatening out of sight. Though it is pleasing how pedestrian the enemy’s aesthetic is. It looks synthetic rather than CGI and resembles my chaotic attempt at a poached egg. In a good way.

Kaluuya has this quality like he can’t be arsed being there and it’s oddly captivating. And when eyes become integral to the plot you fully appreciate his collaboration. Need good eye? Cast Kaluuya.

As his sister, Keke Palmer, who shone in Jennifer Lopez cinematic comeback smash Hustlers, is a charismatic delight. It’s noteworthy that initially her endgame seems not to be vanquishing the foe but to gain fame from it.

It’s difficult not to compare this to Get Out, for which Peele snatched the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. In its own right Nope is a solid thought provoking summer spectacle with fun performances from a very attractive cast.

7 Membrane Thumbs Up! 👍🏻