Jordan Peele has rapidly shot to the top of everyone’s most beloved directors lists after just two films. 2017’s Get Out was a massive critical and commercial success, peeling back the layers of race issues in one of the decade’s most uncomfortably horrifying films; and 2019’s Us was a huge commercial success that followed up with more great scares. So, Peele’s third feature, Nope, understandably has a lot of hype surrounding it. But with the director moving into a slightly different genre this time around can he replicate the same kind of success he had with his previous two efforts?
Following the mysterious death of their father, OJ (Daneil Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer) Haywood inherit the family business of being horse handlers on film sets. But when the horses at their ranch begin to get spooked by an overhead noise, and a cloud near their house doesn’t appear to move in the wind, OJ and Emerald begin to suspect that a UFO may be flying around up there and be the cause of their father’s demise.
That’s really all I’m going to say about the plot, because there’s actually quite a lot more going on with Nope’s story, but I don’t want to get too into spoilers, and I also feel like the film is best enjoyed with relatively little knowledge going in. But don’t take the film at face value, there’s a couple of twists in there that really give the film an identity of its own.
At its core, Nope is a love letter to the unsung and sometimes uncredited behind the scenes heroes of film sets. Being animal handlers, OJ, Emerald, and their horses are often not given the time and respect they deserve and are also considered easily replaceable with CGI. There’re so many times throughout the film where shade is thrown at productions which don’t appreciate the skill of the crew that has been employed. In fact, one interpretation of the entire film could be about the way Hollywood mistreats the things it takes for granted, as well as the way we obsess over modern media.
Nope’s story is very vague, so don’t go in expecting a neatly wrapped up story with a bow. In fact, this is my biggest issue with Nope, because it feels like it lacks focus, but that’s likely just because I don’t really understand how some of the film’s elements tie into one another. For example, there’s a storyline concerning a 90’s sitcom, and whilst it does fall into this industry mistreatment reading of the film, it’s so disconnected from the story of the Haywood’s and this UFO that I wonder why it’s there. I thought it was great, and arguably the scariest part of the entire film, but I do feel like had it not been there the film wouldn’t have been affected in any way.
Following the mysterious death of their father, OJ (Daneil Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer) Haywood inherit the family business of being horse handlers on film sets. But when the horses at their ranch begin to get spooked by an overhead noise, and a cloud near their house doesn’t appear to move in the wind, OJ and Emerald begin to suspect that a UFO may be flying around up there and be the cause of their father’s demise.
That’s really all I’m going to say about the plot, because there’s actually quite a lot more going on with Nope’s story, but I don’t want to get too into spoilers, and I also feel like the film is best enjoyed with relatively little knowledge going in. But don’t take the film at face value, there’s a couple of twists in there that really give the film an identity of its own.
At its core, Nope is a love letter to the unsung and sometimes uncredited behind the scenes heroes of film sets. Being animal handlers, OJ, Emerald, and their horses are often not given the time and respect they deserve and are also considered easily replaceable with CGI. There’re so many times throughout the film where shade is thrown at productions which don’t appreciate the skill of the crew that has been employed. In fact, one interpretation of the entire film could be about the way Hollywood mistreats the things it takes for granted, as well as the way we obsess over modern media.
Nope’s story is very vague, so don’t go in expecting a neatly wrapped up story with a bow. In fact, this is my biggest issue with Nope, because it feels like it lacks focus, but that’s likely just because I don’t really understand how some of the film’s elements tie into one another. For example, there’s a storyline concerning a 90’s sitcom, and whilst it does fall into this industry mistreatment reading of the film, it’s so disconnected from the story of the Haywood’s and this UFO that I wonder why it’s there. I thought it was great, and arguably the scariest part of the entire film, but I do feel like had it not been there the film wouldn’t have been affected in any way.
But that aside, the rest of the film really is fantastic. Kaluuya and Palmer deliver amazing performances, particularly Kaluuya who does so much with so little dialogue. OJ’s a man of few words, but Kaluuya makes them count, and he delivers them in such a way that feels like he’s said so much more than he actually has.
The cinematography is gorgeous, at first I was confused seeing that Nope had been filmed in IMAX because this ultimately is a horror film and those two things don’t compute in my head. IMAX is for really big things like action films, and horror films usually work best when they’re claustrophobic and contained. But the way Nope uses scale is really intimidating, and I can only see that being even more effective in IMAX. The sound design is also really awesome. Whilst all films definitely benefit from a good sound system, Nope really gets the most out of surround sound with its creepy audio effects and the way Michael Abels score combines with them.
There is one element of the film I want to discuss which may enter into mild spoilers territory, so skip this if you do want to go in blank. The UFO disables all electronic equipment whenever it flies overhead which is a plot device used really well throughout the film to ratchet up the tension, but there's a scene near the end of the film which features the inflatable tube people that wave their arms. The way this entire scene is constructed and paced is simply phenomenal, and it's this scene that nets the film a must watch from me. This scene is where everything great about the film comes together perfectly, and particularly in the way tension is built up with inflatable arm wavers is simply genius and everyone needs to see it.
Nope is going to be a divisive one, and personally I can’t make up my mind on it. I think the film is really well made, and a lot of the components mesh really well together. But I could never escape the feeling that I was missing something in the story that made it all fall into place. I’m fine with not understanding something, but with Nope it feels more like I’m missing crucial information than just not piecing it together properly. It does get a must watch recommendation from me despite this simply because of how great the production is, and how when it all clicks it's really incredible. It’s a much bigger film than either Get Out or Us, and I think it’s great for Peele to be moving out of his comfort zone in that way; and despite being a horror film I can see it appealing to more than just a horror audience.
The cinematography is gorgeous, at first I was confused seeing that Nope had been filmed in IMAX because this ultimately is a horror film and those two things don’t compute in my head. IMAX is for really big things like action films, and horror films usually work best when they’re claustrophobic and contained. But the way Nope uses scale is really intimidating, and I can only see that being even more effective in IMAX. The sound design is also really awesome. Whilst all films definitely benefit from a good sound system, Nope really gets the most out of surround sound with its creepy audio effects and the way Michael Abels score combines with them.
There is one element of the film I want to discuss which may enter into mild spoilers territory, so skip this if you do want to go in blank. The UFO disables all electronic equipment whenever it flies overhead which is a plot device used really well throughout the film to ratchet up the tension, but there's a scene near the end of the film which features the inflatable tube people that wave their arms. The way this entire scene is constructed and paced is simply phenomenal, and it's this scene that nets the film a must watch from me. This scene is where everything great about the film comes together perfectly, and particularly in the way tension is built up with inflatable arm wavers is simply genius and everyone needs to see it.
Nope is going to be a divisive one, and personally I can’t make up my mind on it. I think the film is really well made, and a lot of the components mesh really well together. But I could never escape the feeling that I was missing something in the story that made it all fall into place. I’m fine with not understanding something, but with Nope it feels more like I’m missing crucial information than just not piecing it together properly. It does get a must watch recommendation from me despite this simply because of how great the production is, and how when it all clicks it's really incredible. It’s a much bigger film than either Get Out or Us, and I think it’s great for Peele to be moving out of his comfort zone in that way; and despite being a horror film I can see it appealing to more than just a horror audience.