In his directorial debut, and second time as writer for a feature film, Jordan Peele (Key and Peele) has outdone himself! Get Out was pretty much perfect, successfully crossing multiple genres. I laughed so hard I cried, I squeamed in my seat while partially covering my eyes, I yelled out and cheered, and still at other times found myself in deep contemplation about what a scene really meant under the surface. All that to say, Get Out delivers what it promised and then some!
The film opens up on a dark street in the suburbs, where we meet Andrew Logan King (LaKeith Stanfield, Atlanta). I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say the film jumps right into its creepy fear factor promised in the trailer; though only momentarily. Stanfield will return later in the film, where he masterfully plays a completely different persona.
Shortly after the first scene, and the title of the film being displayed, we are transported to a completely different scene, location, and time of day, where we are introduced to the main character, Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya, Sicario) and his girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams, Girls). And from here, the film transitions from horror to more of a mystery, but not before also providing the promised and/or expected social commentary in the likes of implications of a false belief that you cannot be racist if you voted for Obama and what I think is a great example of what it can look like to be a White ally when Rose speaks up against an officer who appears to be treating Chris unfairly.
However, to keep us on our toes, Peele early on makes us jump in our seats just when we thought we could relax and enjoy the ride. That, coupled with the classic use of the musical score in a horror film, keeps you aware that anything can happen at any moment! But mostly, except for the beginning and end, the film is a suspenseful mystery full of great laughs! Most of the laughs came from LilRel Howry (The Carmichael Show), who played Chris' good friend Rod, a super TSA agent! Howry was HILARIOUS!! And it was woven into the film in such a way that it was just his character being real and saying things someone would really say, but the delivery was so on point. So it didn't feel detached from the rest of the film, or like it was just put in for comic relief. It fit in perfectly! In some ways he stole the show in my opinion! O and Maxine Shaw, I mean Erika Alexander (Living Single), makes an appearance in a scene with Rod! So bonus points!!
I also have to note how perfect Betty Gabriel (The Purge: Election Year) was as Georgina. She played the heck out of that role! And what was so amazing about it was that the role called for her face, not so much her lines, to be a critical part in the overall plot. Given her role, she is not expected to speak much. However, it was in her perfect smile, her moments of not smiling and/or being seen doing something she didn't want to be seen doing, that her role spoke volumes about what was going on in the Armitage house. It was in the moment she had the perfect smile and yet could not keep from letting a tear or two fall, that the audience receives final confirmation that something is extremely wrong here.
What I love most about the film is how it allows you to think you've figured it all out, only to reveal it's not quite what you thought. It does this throughout the film, well into the very final scene! Ultimately, the final few scenes bring the film back into the horror genre it started in. However, it manages to be gruesome without being gory; at times leaving it more to your imagination. Though, during the final scenes of the film I was left with one puzzling question, my only qualm with the film, **SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT** regarding how someone manages to get cotton into their ears, but I won't spoil that any further. **SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT**
Overall, Get Out was an amazingly awesome film! I highly, highly recommend it and urge everyone to go out and support it! I definitely want to see more films like this, especially from Jordan Peele!
10/10