Summary
Jordan Peele’s shift into sci-fi is stylish, filled with great characters and a bold new direction for the filmmaker.
Since his ostensible retirement from on-screen performance, Jordan Peele has continued to solidify his reputation as a filmmaker. Following breakout hit Get Out and his follow-up Us, not to mention producing BlacKkKlansman and Candyman, we now see him switch genres while maintaining his keen eye for social commentary.
So, as NOPE opens with the implication of a horrific chimpanzee incident during the taping of a sitcom, we know that we’re in for something unique. In the present day, ranch owners and Hollywood horse trainers Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) and his son “OJ” (Daniel Kaluuya) are rained upon by ephemera from the sky, killed Otis in the process.
Months later, OJ and his sister Em (Keke Palmer) still try and maintain the struggling business. They’ve sold several horses to Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), a former child star who owns a western themed ranch. Things take a turn when the electricity at Haywood Ranch starts going haywire — and there seems to be a UFO parked in a cloud above their property.
If we’ve learned anything from Peele’s previous work, it’s to not assume we know where any of this is going. He did produce and host a Twilight Zone revival after all. What unfolds is a cross between a giant monster movie and an exploration of long-term trauma. Case in point is the character of Jupe, who has buried the memory of an on-set chimp rampage with showmanship and commercialised bravado.
The genre shift in the last acts feels, just like Peele’s previous films, a gear change too far. It never quite brings together the various pieces in a satisfying way. Here the ideas are bountiful and provoking, but they lack focus. A massive set-piece ending showcases Peele’s ability to orchestrate large-scale action, even if the sequence goes on a beat or so too long.
Mind you, Peele’s cast is terrific. Kaluuya downplays Haywood, the antithesis of Palmer’s boundless energy, so that his deadpan reactions to creepy happenings add levity to the terror. Yeun is equally perfect with Jupe’s unwavering belief that his faith will see him right (although one wonders what dynamic original cast member Jesse Plemons would have brought to the table).
NOPE is stylish as all hell, filled with terrific character building and amazing set design. With this film, Peele begins to make his mark on something outside the horror world, and perhaps pushes sci-fi into smarter thrills in the process.
2022 | USA | DIRECTOR: Jordan Peele | WRITERS: Jordan Peele | CAST: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Wrenn Schmidt, Barbie Ferreira, Keith David | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 131 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 11 August 2022 (AUS), 22 July 2022 (US)
