Get Out





Directed By: Jordan Peele

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, and Keith Stanfield

I know people have been flocking to theaters as a distraction from the outrage of the day from the Trump White House.  Every single day, something frustrating, maddening, or downright disgusting takes place in this new era, and moviegoers need a break.  For the first time in a while, I'm happy to report that there is a great new distraction at the box office.  That's right.  I'm talking about Jordan Peele's socially attuned horror-thriller Get Out.  While the title certainly leaves a lot to the imagination, I must say that it's pretty emblematic of a segment of society's views on people of diverse cultures and backgrounds.  All the happenings of the last month or so certainly prove this.  I know there are haters (i.e. believers in reverse racism) who think the film is quite racist towards white people.  I happen to think differently and that the film is something special and something to be seen.

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) has been dating Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) for several months now.  It's about that time for Chris to take the next leap in their relationship and meet Rose's parents.  There's just one complication.  Chris is black, and Rose is white.  The racial dynamics that will be at play in a parental encounter are not lost on Chris, but he decides to do it for Rose anyway.  Upon making the trip up, Chris is introduced to Rose's mother and father Missy and Dean Armitage (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford).  As he gets to know Rose's family, he meets her brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones) as well as house staff Walter (Marcus Henderson) and Georgina (Betty Gabriel).  Along the way, he notices strange things happening.  Still, he can't quite put his finger on exactly what threads them together.  His friend and favorite TSA agent Rodney Williams (Lil Rel Howery) has a handle on the situation though.

With the snap, crackle, and pop of an eerie, old school thriller yet the sensibilities of a woke director, Jordan Peele's Get Out is a plain and simple knockout.  I'm happy to report that I love this movie.  I LOVE this movie.  Blending humor, horror, and societal shortcomings into one nice, neat pop culture package, Get Out is the awesome film I didn't know I needed.  Peele really crafts something special here.  You can see it in the thrills and chills Peele manages to evoke using the body language of his actors alone.  You can hear it in the upbeat soundtrack that symbolically contrasts the horrors unfolding on screen in the same manner that the Armitage's home itself seems friendly on the surface but is quite terrible once Chris begins to explore it.  You can feel it in the raw emotions fueled by each moviegoer's individual understanding of our culture and society.  Yes, Get Out is a well-crafted film that brings realism to the genre in a way we've not seen in a while (with the arguable exception of The Purge).

The actors bring plenty of color to their characters to help bring Peele's vision to life.  For his part as our lead Chris, Daniel Kaluuya brings an unmistakable authenticity to the film. His character is confident in his identity as a black man and savvy enough to sense when a situation smells fishy.  Though immersed in a white culture for the weekend, he clings to this identity as it is put to the test in some pretty strange ways.  As Rose Armitage, Allison Williams brings a great deal of warmth to the film.  Her love of Chris and of her family both come to the forefront throughout the film.  Beyond Chris, she may be the most interesting character.  For their parts as Missy and Dean Armitage respectively, Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitfield give us charismatic parents that use charm to mask heinous intentions.  Caleb Landry Jones is a menace as Jeremy Armitage.  Enough said.  Most notably, Lil Rel Howery pulls no punches as everyone's favorite TSA agent Rodney Williams.  He sees the situation as we the audience see it and has no problem calling anyone and everyone out to hilarious effect.

Get Out notches a rare accomplishment in the horror genre.  I know I'm about to spoil part of the movie, but the black people live!  This almost never happens in this genre.  The stereotypical black guy or girl always gets the ax fairly early in horror flicks.  Jordan Peele says no to tradition on this one, and I thank him for it.  Get Out is a movie with which you'll fall in love.  This racially enlightened horror movie gets a 0.03% rating.  Have some wine coolers with this one.