Nope-2022
Director Jordan Peele
Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer
Scott’s Review #1,334
Reviewed January 15, 2023
Grade: B
I excitedly anticipated the latest offering from one of my favorite modern directors, Jordan Peele. Always conjuring some message, intrigue, or social issue, his projects are laden with meaning rather than a one-dimensional portrayal of a crazed killer or a one-note story.
Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) were riveting efforts that could be watched over and over again for deeper meaning, and the same was expected of Nope (2022).
Peele’s brilliant yet short-lived The Twilight Zone series further cemented his appeal.
While there are moments of mystery, intrigue, and horror, and the stories are good individually, they don’t come together cohesively at the end of the film. Nothing was clear or specific, nor was it fulfilled.
Nope is not a dud and deserves respect for the originality of the premise as well as the sprinkling of nods to past horror films like The Shining (1980) and others.
Hollywood animal wrangler OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) begin observing unexplained phenomena on their vast Southern California ranch. After a falling object kills their father, they become obsessed as they plot to capture the mystery on camera.
Their next-door neighbor, Jupe (Steven Yuen), a former child star turned family theme park ringmaster, has his own story to tell.
Through flashbacks, we learn of a deadly incident with a chimpanzee who went berserk on the set of a television series in which Jupe starred.
The 1998 events involving Jupe and the chimpanzee are the best parts. This is surprising since they are not part of the main action. Peele does wonders with chapter title cards to separate the film and haunting camera angles focusing on Jupe’s point of view.
The chimp slaughters nearly everyone on set except for Jupe and tenderly reaches out to him before being shot and killed by the police.
OJ and Emerald’s story also has juice. The foreboding, unidentified flying object that circles and appears at varying times provides a sense of mystique and wonder. What could it be, and why does it hover only over their land?
Peele wrote, directed, and produced the venture, so presumably, he had complete creative control over the entire film.
He even convinced the appealing Daniel Kaluuya, who starred in Get Out and just won an Academy Award for Judas and the Black Messiah in 2021, to return.
There are no significant issues with the technical special effects, the cinematography, the cast, or the two separate stories.
My beef is with the myriad of questions I was left with when the end credits began to roll, and I thought, ‘Why has Jordan Peele disappointed me for the very first time?’
Here are just a few of them.
Why is the unidentified flying object afraid of horses? Why does it viciously attack anyone who looks it in the eye? What does the vicious chimpanzee attack have to do with anything? How does Jupe’s story connect with OJ and Emerald’s? Why is the character named OJ; what is the connection to OJ Simpson?
Knowing Peele, I could venture a guess at the UFO’s anger at being looked at as having a connection to the celebrity or a society of voyeurs, but the others are perplexing to me.
I was both compelled and fascinated by the events throughout the film, but I wish the payoff had been more substantial; it never came.
Peele creates sophisticated films, and Nope is no exception, offering sophistication and a deeper meaning. I wasn’t personally able to put the pieces together like I was for Get Out or Us.
I may not have the energy to rewatch the two-hour and fifteen-minute spectacle to see if I can get more out of it a second time, but I probably should.
I will watch whatever Peele creates next with anticipation and excitement because there is always something to ponder and be entertained by. However, at first review, Nope (2022) seems inferior to his other projects, and more was expected.
