• Viewing 1.0 March 2019 A film that’s ambitious in ideas and script, but not overly ambitious in film as art or filmmaking if you will
  • There are a couple of really nice shots—one of them is late with Lupita walking into the funhouse, the other is of the young Adelaide character at night walking on the beach with the lit up roller coaster surrounding her in the deep background
There are a couple of really nice shots—one of them is late with Lupita walking into the funhouse, the other is of the young Adelaide character at night walking on the beach with the lit up roller coaster surrounding her in the deep background
  • A strong musical score—uses and rifts on “I Got 5 on it” by the Luniz
  • I see the Lynch comparisons because of the doppelgänger (which is used throughout to strong effect). The Hitchcock comparisons or Carpenter comparisons just have to be because Peele is trying to “elevate” the thriller or horror genre to high art (not that it needs to be elevated). Villeneuve actually accomplished a bit more than Peele here in Enemy in 2013 (if we’re talking doppelgängers) which is no insult- that film is very good
  • Nice use of red in a few spots, the body suit of course, the red apple young Adelaide is carrying
  • Winston Duke is the comic relief here operating in an entirely different movie than the rest of the characters like Lil Rel Howery was in Get Out. Peele is dedicated to this approach. I have mixed feelings on it—it acts as comedy as I said and Peele is a talented comedian—a bit of an audience surrogate saying, often, and hilariously, “this is absurd”.  But it also is by its nature bad form and can take you out of it at key moments of terror (like the aftermath of the climax in Get Out with the flawed one-liner from Howery). Duke’s nuclear family dad is like Chevy Chase in the vacation films
  • I see some Aronofsky but I think it’s more Mother (ambitious in ideas/allegory)than Black Swan (ambitious in style) even if it’s Swan with the doppelgänger
  • I don’t love Peele saying his “We’re Americans” metaphor out lout and underlining it. I didn’t love von Trier doing it in Dogville but at least von Trier did it with a David Bowie song and it was during the closing credits.
  • The auteur I see the most when comparing Peele is M. Night Shyamalan—Peele is making social statements with his films (there’s a sociopolitical reading here of course and a more internal philosophical one—both work) unlike Shyamalan but the rest is pretty close.  The reveal here and the spoiler nature of it, the genre he’s working in, and the level of artistic achievement feels on par here

Viewing 2.0 – November 2019

  • A couple of very nice slow tracking shots in from Peele to start the film—one introduces the hands across America motif with the commercial from the 1980’s along with some of Peele’s nods (to films like CHUD and Goonies). The next slow tracking shot is the reverse direction here coming away from one lone white rabbit to reveal a wall of them over the opening credits – very nicely set frames
  • Jeremiah 11:11 and 11/11 all over the place. Inescapable disaster is the meaning essentially. Lots of Easter eggs and iconography with the red jump suits, tether, mirrors, scissors, doubles, rabbits
Lots of Easter eggs and motifs with the red jump suits, tether, mirrors, scissors, doubles, rabbits
  • The music is inspired throughout with the horrific choice vocalizing (much like say The Omen, Janelle Monáe, Luniz, The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”, NWA
  • Peele successfully sets up an atmosphere of dread with the creepy opening and then the atmosphere of dread (carried largely by a very strong Lupita Nyong’o)- it’s 37 minutes before the doppelgänger family shows up
Peele successfully sets up an atmosphere of dread with the creepy opening and then the atmosphere of dread (carried largely by a very strong Lupita Nyong’o)- it’s 37 minutes before the doppelgänger family shows up
  • Lupita does a great job overall but I can’t get behind that voice. It’s a big choice, and it’s a miss.
  • Elizabeth Moss – such a talent- a great quick scene with her in the mirror
  • The frame I mention above—Lupita walking into the haunted house—is a stunner- 90 minutes in and a very well set frame by Peele
  • 96 minutes in we get a great split diopter shot of dueling Lupita’s
96 minutes in we get a great split diopter shot of dueling Lupita’s
  • Recommend- not in the top 10 of 2019