Earlier today, I watched Jordan Peele's sci-fi thriller Nope at AMC theaters. Needless to say, it is another creative and witty film by the Oscar-winning director of Get Out and Us!
Nope is about a horse-wrangling family who tries to make ends meet after the father, Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David), dies under mysterious circumstances at the start of the film. OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer), Otis' children, notice a mysterious object lurking in the clouds above their Southern Californa ranch—and attempt to earn some money by capturing the clearest footage possible of this UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) on various cameras.
OJ and Emerald get more than they bargain for in their attempt to film this object, as it is no ordinary flying saucer zooming around the skies above their home in Agua Dulce (a real locale in Los Angeles County). If you watched War of the Worlds—the 2005 version by Steven Spielberg, specifically—and remembered what happened to humans abducted by the alien tripods, then you'll get an idea as to what kind of danger this territorial saucer poses against OJ, Emerald and all the other residents of Agua Dulce!
As mentioned at the start of this review, Nope is an absolutely creative film. Peele reinvents the wheel with this flying saucer, and there is so much symbolism in this movie that I'd need to re-watch it to get a clearer understanding of them. Example: OJ and Emerald are the descendants of the horse-riding stuntman featured in a series of images (shown below) that were captured by 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Horses play a major role in Nope (as the trailers clearly reveal), and by the end of the film, one of the main characters is framed in a shot that mimics the iconic photos taken by Muybridge. Also, there's a maniacal (if not homicidal) chimpanzee named Gordy who also factors into the cryptic themes behind Nope.
[I'm sure that there are lots of online articles now talking about the plot points of Nope, but I prefer writing a review using my current knowledge of the movie (with some quick help by IMDb) before I start reading articles about it.]
Nope has a cast as phenomenal as the concept that Peele came up with for this movie. Along with David, Kaluuya and Palmer, Steven Yeun (of the Oscar-nominated film Minari and TV's The Walking Dead), Brandon Perea (of American Insurrection) and Michael Wincott (of 1994's The Crow...one of my favorite flicks of all time) have memorable roles in this very clever and suspenseful movie.
Nope was shot on 65mm Kodak film for IMAX. After watching the movie at AMC theaters today, I can see why Peele wanted this film to be presented in the ultra-large format! I definitely need to see this flick at the multiplex again to gain a greater appreciation of the thrills and chills that Peele conveyed in his latest critical hit. And one last thing: The film obviously explains why it's titled 'Nope.'
Two thumbs way up for Nope!
Eadweard Muybridge, via National Gallery of Art
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