Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele is back in theaters with his much awaited third film, Nope. One of the few name brand directors left in Hollywood, audiences are eager to see his latest horror thriller reuniting him with Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya.
Nope focuses on siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer), who are heirs to Haywood Hollywood Horses, horse training service to the stars. Following the tragic and mysterious death of his father Otis Sr. (Keith David) who was hit by falling debris from an airplane, OJ attempts to keep life afloat at the range. While being visited by Emerald, OJ makes a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomena. The two soon attempt to document the flying object that seems to be continuously lurking above their house.
Thematically, Nope feels like a collection of loose ends, plot lines that began to form but ended mid-sentence. Peele attempts to connect our modern world’s love of spectacle and exploitation of sentient beings for our own purposes through the metaphor of a predatory alien presence here on Earth, but the connection is explored on a surface level which in turns hampers the film from fully connecting with the audience. This core issue with the film is highlighted even more greatly with the inclusion of a subplot revolving around a Hollywood TV show tragedy involving a chimpanzee actor that snaps and goes on a rampage killing and maiming its human costars during a taping. This predatory beast of earthly origins lashing out at attempts to tame it for exploitation, chewing them up and spitting them out, is meant to be an allegory and commentary for the larger story of the film. However, this subplot is touched upon a handful of times in flashbacks during the course of the film and just…never mentioned again. Any connections to the overall plot are left to be sussed out by the audience, many of whom are probably likely to wonder just why they were shown it rather than make the connection Peele is attempting to provide them. For others in the audience, such thematic interpretation will be welcomed, but such subtlety is sure to make for a frustrating watch for a large number of viewers.
Despite the film’s themes feeling slightly undercooked, Peele’s adeptness with handling the depiction of horror is on full display here, as his skill in building tension and dread is top notch. Nope smartly uses the absence of the alien entity to spark the imagination of the audience, adhering to the old adage that nothing a creative can conjure themselves is scarier than what a person can imagine. Until the film’s third act, we often don’t see the alien craft but either hear it or are treated to shots that gives us glances or have it just out of frame. The result is a fear of what we know is nearby but can’t see just like what the characters onscreen are experiencing, allowing us to connect with their horror more intimately and creating a thrilling experience. The story may be hit or miss but the feeling of a quality scary movie is definitely present throughout Nope.
Nope’s failure to completely connect is also no fault of its actors as Kaluuya, Palmer, and Brandon Perea all display considerable chemistry with each other and make their characters people who you can at least root for. Palmer specifically continues to display the charm and humor she is becoming known for on the big screen while Kaluuya is given room to show off his heroic chops and some, although not full, emotional range. Perea’s Angel Torres is the perfectly complementary supporting character that helps the main actors along in their journey while also supplying additional comedic relief.
While Nope’s thematic aspects don’t feel fully realized and impactful, the horror aspects of the film do work and must be accounted for equally. Jordan Peele and director of photography Hoyt van Hoytema do a fantastic job in building a sense of dread and fear throughout that make the scary aspects of the story palpable. Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Brandon Perea offer good performances that also help to make the fear of the alien something audiences can feel and empathize with. All in all, this film is a mixed bag, with some good aspects and some that don’t hit their mark.
Image: Universal Pictures
