'Get Out' Review

Think Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) meets The Gift (2015), and you have the vaguest outline of what Jordan Peele’s, the MadTV alumni and one half of the terrific comedic duo Kay & Peele, directorial debut is all about. It takes the formula of the former – white wealthy young woman brings her black boyfriend to meet the parents – and subverts it by having the parents fully welcoming, fully ‘accepting’ of this young gentleman; before the film oh so cleverly turns these overt niceties and friendly rapport into something quite twisted. Like The Gift, Get Out is quite the assured horror/thriller debut from an established actor; but it goes further than just being a taut and stylish scary film, with a great deal of nuance to its social subtext and satire, and some truly (often unexectedly) hilarious moments.

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is your average young American male, working as a photographer, going out with the rather sweet, if at times a bit too nonchalant and easygoing Rose (Allison Williams). Nothing stands out in particular about this young couple, and even the fact that they’re an interracial couple is brought up only in relation to how her parents will react; apparently he’s the first black guy she’s ever gone out with. The opening scenes of the film take a while to get going, admittedly, and Peele’s writing is perhaps a little less assured when trying to set up the plot, but once the couple arrive in high-end, very white suburbia to meet the folks (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener), Peele’s direction and script really gets going. You never feel like he’s going straight for the jugular just yet in these initial scenes, but rather eases the film into its horror tones, while also developing the other aspects of the plot and his themes with remarkable aplomb.

Even in the cheeriest conversations, there’s an underlying tension, and therein lies one of the film’s greatest achievements. Chris’s race is often brought up in conversation, and all the folks seem to make as evident as possible that they’re not racist. An elderly ex-golfer emphasizes how much he loves Tiger Woods; a family friend none-too-subtly asks Rose what makes Chris ‘different’ in bed; Whitford’s cool dad talks about how his own father’s claim to fame was being beaten by Jesse Owens in front of Hitler. These scenes are often rather funny, but also deeply uncomfortable to watch, because even though the satire may be exaggerated, it is very much a reflection of the all-too-easy trap of people trying to prove they’re not ‘racist’, but end up being rather off-putting in doing so. The Armitages also have a deadbeat, abrasive son (Caleb Landry Jones) who more incisively tries racially attack Chris, and two black helpers (Betty Gabriel and Marcus Henderson) who are the most obvious signs that something is really amiss. Peele crafts some rather compelling horror sequences with the interactions between Chris and these strange individuals, and one truly harrowing sequence as Keener’s psychiatrist hypnotizes Chris into quitting smoking, and something more.

Peele never overplays his hand in gradually building the film up to a pretty amazing final act where everything comes together, both in a way that makes sense, and in a way you might not expect. He never compromises the horror with the laughs, apart from maybe a slightly misplaced interlude with Chris’s concerned best friend (the hilarious Lil Rel Howrey) at the police station – although that scene, like all his little interludes, are rather delightful, it does ever so slightly slacken the watertight tension. Thankfully, errors are far and few in between with Peele’s filmmaking craft, and that extends to the excellent ensemble. Kaluuya, best known up to this point for his role on Black Mirror and supporting turns in Johnny English Reborn, Kick-Ass 2 and Sicario, carries the film remarkably well as the comedic straight man, the reactionary face to the horrors, and the intrepid hero we root for. Here’s hoping this excellent leading turn brings about a proper breakout. He’s ably supported by a cast of everyone’s favourite character actors, from veterans Whitford and Keener playing with their usual ‘types’ of characters rather effectively, to short but memorable appearances by Stephen Root as a blind art dealer, and the incredibly talented Lakeith Stanfield as a truly odd and troubling party guest. MVP of the film, though, has to go to Williams, who is truly a revelation in a role that requires a lot, and she totally nails it.

The film is at times truly terrifying, at times truly hilarious, sometimes both, but perhaps most impressive is its social subtext. The cool dad says he’d vote for Obama for a third term if he could, the Uncle Tom dynamic of the house servants, the faux friendliness and ‘acceptance’ of the black male descending into something quite unnervingly derogatory…it all comes together so well, and never feels forced. Even the little twist at the end, played for laughs and relief, brings to mind some very timely issues in America. This is an excellent horror film, a stellar comedy, but also very much a product of our times in the best possible way.