Nope

 

Score: B

Directed by Jordan Peele

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun

Running time: 131 minutes

Rated R

Long Story Short:  Nope is the third movie written and directed by Jordan Peele (Get Out) featuring his unique combination of horror and humor.  While mysteries are key (sorry) to his movies, they are particularly central to this one.  Daniel Kaluuya and Steven Yeun anchor an eclectic cast, but it's the setting and atmosphere that truly star.  Unfortunately, the film can't hold its suspense, and it suffers not from bizarre settings but rather character choices.  Still, it's worth a try if you enjoyed Get Out.

Siblings OJ (Kaluuya) and Em (Palmer) pursue Hollywood dreams from the family ranch in California after their father dies mysteriously.  OJ does his best to train horses to be used in movies and TV but it's a struggle, and he is forced to start selling his horses to Jupe (Yeun), the owner of a nearby Wild West theme park and a former child acting star.  During a visit to the ranch, Em and her brother encounter strange howling noises and flickering electricity that spooks their remaining horses.  Desperate for a break to help them through the hard times, the siblings decide to investigate and soon find themselves in the midst of something far stranger than anything Hollywood could dream up.

Nope is a unique film from a very talented filmmaker in Jordan Peele, with some effective moments of both horror and humor, but it is a significant step back from his instant classic Get Out due to a poor final act and bizarre character work.  Horror is one of the few genres I almost always avoid; only because of my love of Key & Peele did I - thankfully - try Get Out, and now Nope.  So while I'm unfamiliar with genre standards here, I believe Peele does strong, groundbreaking work with tone, creating creepiness while allowing for plenty of humor that somehow doesn't dissipate the scariness.  At least, in the first half of this movie.  The dialogue is minimal; instead, Peele provides a vast, open ranch which, during the day, is bright if desolate but at night creates a feeling of isolation and vulnerability.  To that he adds otherworldly elements - howling wind that sounds eerily close to screaming; flickering lights and deadened music; braying, stamping, galloping horses.  You find yourself scanning the skies for a mysterious presence just as nervously as the characters on screen.  Another horror scene, involving a flashback traumatic on-set incident for June, while narratively random, is also effective.  Amidst this all, though, there are plenty of chuckles, too, primarily through the siblings' contrasting personalities: OJ's stoic, measured words and reactions and Em's flamboyance and energy.  A weirdo tech store helper they befriend is also fun.  Kaluuya and Yeun do particularly good work.  I was not as big a fan of Palmer - it was a bit over the top to me - but she still adds some needed juice to a film otherwise light on character interaction.

Unfortunately, the second half or so starts going downhill due to the loss of the creepy, mysterious vibe as well as increasingly inexplicable character choices and sci-fi elements, and goes on for too long.  I enjoy plenty of unrealistic fantasy, sci-fi and superhero movies; therefore, I am quite capable of suspending my disbelief, of course.  But related phenomena that do bother me are when characters behave or make choices that don't make sense and when fantasy elements contradict their own "rules".  In Nope, the characters are caught off guard when the first odd and threatening things occur, and logically investigate them only very carefully and are clearly on guard.  However, they eventually are convinced that the mystery is a predatory UFO above the ranch.  Do they contact any authorities, or even just get the hell out of there?  No - they decide to try to film it!  I don't care how desperate you are for money or love making films, the imminent mortal danger to themselves - not to mention possibly many others - makes this absurd.  The behavior of the UFO "monster" itself is inconsistent, ranging from ominous yet keeping a distant to immediate and actively hunting, as well as other mismatching details that confuse what it is and can do.  This all comes together in the movie's final act - where the characters execute a rather intricate and, again, insanely dangerous/ suicidal plan to film the UFO.  The siblings somehow make it out alive, but it had little effect for me: essentially, it is simply a miracle that they survived their own stupidity.

***

I had pretty high hopes for Nope, a rare summer movie with critical as well as popular expectations.  Unfortunately, Peele could not sustain the perfect blend of horror and humor in Nope that he achieved in Get Out - perhaps due in part to the significant inclusion of sci-fi to the mix.  I really did enjoy the first half of this movie, but it feels like Peele had a particular ending he wanted for the film, and to get there, he was forced to make too many compromises in the second half.  Oh, well - I still look forward to whatever he makes next.  Speaking of what's next, I'm not sure.  The movie calendar looks pretty barren for the next month or two, unfortunately.  Hopefully there will be some pleasant surprises, though.  Until next time!

* By http://www.impawards.com/2022/nope_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68297324