I saw Get Out this weekend. The Mister loves thrillers (or what I call plain ol’ “scary movies”). Whereas I love to be scared, I get scared so easily that I tend to stay away from scary movies. But 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and my respect for Jordan Peele made me want to see this one. I really enjoyed it as did The Mister. We discussed the film well into the evening. I’m of the mind that two weeks is still “spoiler avoidance” territory so I am going to be as vague as possible in this post. I went in knowing nothing more than the trailer and what CB wrote about it so I intend to give you the same courtesy. The Huffington Post made an argument that Get Out should be considered during the next awards season. You can read their full article here but there are some spoilers. I pulled out the heart of the argument below – no spoilers.
“Get Out” is a piece of craftsmanship, seemingly made by a veteran director. It takes a skilled filmmaker with a deep connection to the nature of storytelling to create something that twists our familiarity with movies into something original. That it follows recognizable patterns is precisely the point. In Peele’s heightened narrative, well-meaning white people ― those clueless social liberals who would gladly dedicate their avocado toast to Black Lives Matter ― are villains without masks. These boogeymen and -women are all around us. You might even be one of them. And that idea, however brashly outlined, fosters a sociological commentary as complex as any prestigious Oscar title.
Whether “Get Out” will remain one of the year’s best, thereby sealing its Oscar worthiness, is yet to be seen. The last Best Picture champ released in January or February was 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” the only horror movie that’s ever won. But Universal would be wise to start pondering an awards campaign, particularly for Kaluuya’s effective performance and Peele’s direction and script. Even if the Academy hasn’t delivered on its promise, the Best Picture category expanded to a potential 10 slots so the Oscars could recognize popular movies regularly edged out by more somber conventions. “Get Out” is every bit as nuanced and layered as many intimate indie dramas, and at a time when our country can seem more racially polarized than ever, it’s just the sort of topical confrontation that Americans should be encouraged to embrace.
The film has already cleared almost $76 million with a $4.5 production budget so it is going to stay on many filmmakers minds anyway. I agree with Huff Po, Get Out should not be ruled out during award season because it’s a thriller/horror film. At the very least, it really needs to be a contender for screenplay, which is an example of excellent storytelling. We do need to find new ways to tell stories and allow all genres to have a voice in the mainstream market. And, as Huffington Post pointed out, Get Out spoke to “racial bigotry as thoroughly as any slavery movie.” The film’s message comes through on the surface but is driven home through reflection. The Mister and I thought ourselves very clever for figuring out so many clues and messages in the film. Then I clicked on this Buzzfeed link (SPOILERS) and of the 22 things they point out, we had gotten three of them. So yes, it is beautifully layered and nuanced. Plus, there is no more gore and violence than any war movie that has taken home awards.
And now I am simply going to fawn for a bit. The cast is wonderful. The article points out Daniel Kaluuya’s performance and he deserves the praise as much as the comedic relief in the film, LilRel Howery, does. Allison Williams, however, surprised the hell out of me. I expected her to be little more than set décor but she is a valuable part of this cast and she plays one particular scene as well as any more-heralded actress. I love Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener so generally I enjoy them on film but they seriously brought it in this. Without giving anything away, I have never seen Keener play this character before – and she does so beautifully. If you can handle scary films, go see it, it’s worth it – and maybe see it twice.
I wish I knew when Chelsea was due. She looks great!
Photo credit: WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos and Getty Images
No.
I get scared really easily (I had to take two time outs to watch It Follows) and my partner LOVES horror. We will probably watch this on video, because I don’t want to wet myself/scream out loud/make those sad little meep noises, in a theatre.
Side note: Peele and Peretti are adorable together. They must laugh constantly.
I saw it but I don’t think it deserves 99% on rotten tomatoes. I kind of figured it out once it was revealed what the girl’s father did for a living. It was entertaining though and his friend made me laugh with all his warnings. I didn’t find it scary at all.
I really want to see this so I thank you for no spoilers. If this film is as good as you and other critics say it is then yes it most certainly should be a contender. Scary movies can be works of art too.
No, because awards shows are loathe to acknowledge horror films – they see them as “beneath” serious consideration.
I was PISSED last year when John Goodman got totally overlooked for 10 Cloverfield Lane. I read multiple reviews stating that he was AMAZING in it and saw for myself – yes, he was THAT great in it. They won’t recognize James MacAvoy for Split either, even though he’s outstanding in it. Thrillers and horror movies have never gotten really serious consideration from awards – yeah, they nominate them on occasion, but they’re never really serious contenders. I saw Get Out as well and loved it precisely because I think so many people were expecting Jordan to ride on the horror-comedy angle, and he didn’t – it’s a serious, provocative film. But no, he won’t get any serious credit for it.
I hope it does get nominated, it’s such a good movie.
This is the first movie in a while that I’ve wanted to see in a theater. I love Jordan Peele and I thought it would be something my teen son and I could actually do together. Alas my teen was too busy for me over the weekend…I must have to not wait for him and just to treat myself!
Awards recognition would be nice but listening to an interview with Peele over the weekend, he’s over the moon that he had the #1 film. So happy for him!
I loved this film. Every single piece of it was important and connected to the plot. I saw it twice and it keeps getting better!
I loved the movie, it deserved the 99% on RT. I’ve seen it twice!!
No because horror movies, genre films and comedies are not welcome especially at The Oscars. Even though every year there are several performances from these types of films and the films themselves that are more than worthy of getting awards recognition. Some of them are even better than the films and performances that do get nominated.
Me and my friends and Bf are still talking about it every day for the past two weeks, and the memes!!.. This is the marker of a good Film! It Should be in the mentions for the achievement it is (but it wont ) , for the metrics it covered, for the themes ( honestly so many many good convos online about black men vs black women experiencing the movie/ IR couples, such as myself, where did you watch it the second time vs first one in terms of crowd) , for the nuance to what Jordan Peele first time director made happen, also besides going to all the discussions on Very Smart Brothers ( which have been so so Good/funny/Poignant) is worth to Listen to Jordan Peele on Another Round.. he said this was his love letter to Black Horror film fans that Love the genre and never see themselves in it as the main character and also that though a couple endings were filmed the one he kept is what he felt we needed
“a couple endings were filmed the one he kept is what he felt we needed”
Very interesting. I loved the ending.
It’s a wonderful film but don’t feel like you can’t see it if you don’t like scary movies, because it’s not scary in a “jump scare,” gory kind of sense. Its horror lies in the microaggressions, casual racism etc. It’s scary in a much different sort of way than a typical thriller.
Yes to this! It isn’t like Saw or Human Centipede or something. 🙂
My hubby went to see it with his sons because I was too sick to go. He said the movie mimicked so many situations he had been in when he dated white women. The microaggressions are definately scarey. They are situations I’ve been in as the only black person and the feeling of being so uncomfortable. Peele really did a good job of showing Double Conciousness
I saw it this weekend and I loved it. It’s not the perfect movie ever made, but it was certainly entertaining and thought provoking. My theater was pretty filled. We screamed, we jumped, we laughed, we cheered.
I do think that the symbolism is pretty clear, but I don’t think it was meant to be a big surprise. It still makes its point without big surprises. I thought the entire cast was really strong. I think by keeping the cast and locations pretty simple, he kept the quality high. Very good planning for a first time director. This could also easily translate into a play.
I thought it was ridiculous.
Just curious to know what elements did you think were ridiculous. Genuinely curious to know another perspective.
I thought the movie had many layers to it. There was a lot of subtle stuff that probably went over most people heads I’d imagine. I’m going to be honest, from my experience most interracial relationships are not equal. One party (usually the minority of the couple) is always giving up more of their heritage, their culture, etc in order to create an equilibrium. Also, there are some things, that you will never get about or understand about a very different culture, even when dating someone from that culture. One of the things I really like about the film was the subtle ways they showed both of these; case in point whenever Chris felt uncomfortable being a black man in a certain situation, his girlfriend essentially gaslighted him and had him thinking that it was all in his head, to the point where he would apologize to her. That happens every day when dealing with micro-aggressions and subtle forms of racism, prejudice, and bigotry that certain people will never understand.
If you get beneath the surface it’s a pretty deep movie on a lot of levels. And not just about race relations, but also about how black people can brainwash themselves into believing shit ain’t going down when we all know it is.
Probably not. The academy awards very rarely nominate comedy, sci fi, animated (outside of its own category – and maybe song), comic book movies/action and of course horror. So unless this film has crazy buzz around it or like turns the genre on its head or something, I very much doubt it.