Keke Palmer in Nope – Courtesy: Universal Pictures
Some very strange phenomena arise around the quiet, family-run Haywood horse ranch in Nope (★★★★☆), the latest genre-bending feature from Oscar-winning Get Out and Us auteur Jordan Peele.
First, a sudden, lethal downpour rains down on the farm from a peculiar cloud lingering directly above. Voices, screaming in agony, fill the air over the small town of Agua Dulce, California. From there, the film methodically, tantalizingly teases out details of an unexplained presence intent on claiming this remote territory as its own.
The movie opens with a tease, in fact, a harrowing flashback to another sudden, lethal outburst, this time on the set of a ’90s sitcom called Gordy’s Home. We hear, but can see only brief glimpses of the grisly scene as the titular star of the show, a chimpanzee playing “Gordy,” goes on a vicious, bloody rampage that leaves no one standing in that TV studio.
The actual violence doesn’t appear onscreen, just the withering sight of the blood-soaked ape pausing to catch its breath, before pouncing again on a struggling victim that he continues to pound relentlessly. Not only is the visual restraint effective, but the mere sound of flesh and bone being pummeled and torn apart evokes more terror in the imagination than any single onscreen image might accomplish.
Throughout, the film relies on excellent sound design, as much as any visual spectacle, to illustrate the bizarre occurrences at the Haywood ranch. Still, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Dunkirk, Interstellar), shooting in IMAX, captures some absolutely arresting tableaux, like one indelible image of blood and carnage raining down on the farmhouse.
Usually, however, it’s the thought of objects and actions unseen that carries the most weight here. Peele is masterful at wielding the power of suggestion, and the art of misdirection, to fuel fear and anticipation. Though, ultimately, anticipation of the mysterious thing hovering over Nope turns out to be more frightening than the thing itself.
But the movie has a field day toying with our anticipation, drawing its characters and the audience into the deepening mystery, weaving disparate genre threads together to depict an epic struggle between the Haywoods and their hostile visitor.
Get Out leading man Daniel Kaluuya, as horse trainer OJ Haywood, who runs Haywood Hollywood Horses with his taciturn dad Otis (Keith David), supplies the steady, determined aura of a decent, hard-working man looking out for his family and their historic horse wrangling business.
Daniel Kaluuya in Nope – Courtesy Universal Pictures
Yang to his yin, Keke Palmer plays OJ’s far less responsible little sis, Emerald, the fast-talking, hustling Haywood whose over-the-top reactions to the bizarre goings-on at the ranch are played for solid comedy. The larger personality of the two siblings — and, incidentally, queer — Emerald dominates their interactions the way that Palmer often dominates the screen, through sheer charm and chutzpah.
She’s well-matched in the charm department by Brandon Perea (The OA) in a star-making turn as Angel, a talky tech specialist from the local electronics store where OJ and Emerald buy surveillance equipment to capture visual evidence of the unexplainable.
Capturing the perfect shot on camera becomes a running theme in the movie, which also depicts OJ and Emerald working on the set of a commercial, as well as the aftermath of the terrifying massacre on the set of Gordy’s Home.
In the film’s most intriguing performance, Steven Yeun portrays Ricky “Jupe” Park, a former child actor who survived the Gordy’s Home rampage, and now runs a Wild West theme park in Agua Dulce where danger also lurks. Ricky knows better than anyone how shockingly quickly a pleasant afternoon of fun and make-believe can turn into a ghastly spectacle.
So does Peele. Nope actually references a biblical verse heralding what OJ calls a “bad miracle”: I will cast abominable filth upon you/Make you vile/And make you a spectacle.
Based on the film’s frequent nods to filmmaking, Peele seems keenly aware of audience expectations. So the verse suffices as a horror maker’s mission statement, if not an explanation for the relatively straightforward plot, which seems designed to arouse fear and existential curiosity in equal measure.
Nope is Rated R and is playing in theaters nationwide, including Landmark Theatres. Visit www.landmarktheatres.com.
Most A-list filmmakers in the streaming era would be glad, and lucky, to have one decent feature hit theaters in a year. So, snaps up to Steven Soderbergh, back with his second slam-bang film this season, following up January's nifty haunted house thriller Presence with the wily spy thriller Black Bag.
Soderbergh and Presence screenwriter David Koepp load up the sex, lies, and video files for this taut tale of a search for the snake hiding within a nest of secret agents. The top agent, George Woodhouse, portrayed with cool determination by Michael Fassbender, is tasked with rooting out a mole embedded in a black-ops division of British intelligence. Among his list of suspects is his own wife, Kathryn, played with a sly glint in her eye by a brashly brunette Cate Blanchett.
Musicals don't always have to impress with kicklines, jazz hands, and spectacle. As Kander and Ebb wrote in their poignant song, "A Quiet Thing," "Happiness comes in on tip-toe/ well what'd'ya know/ It's a quiet thing/ A very quiet thing."
Much like the unexpected sleeper hit of the season, Maybe Happy Ending, a love story about two obsolete robots finding true connection, the Off-Broadway All the World's A Stage, is a wholly original story that quietly and happily makes room for reflection and introspection.
Gen X theater lovers particularly will appreciate Adam Gwon's musical about life in small town America in 1996. Matt Rodin stars as Ricky Alleman, a closeted math teacher new to the area.
Like life imitating art and art imitating life, Synetic Theater currently has rather a lot in common with the subject of their production of The Immigrant, a riff on Charlie Chaplin and his tragic-comic character known as the Little Fellow.
Not only are Synetic's founders themselves immigrants, but the company is now as homeless as Chaplin's character. Add the fact that the headlines don't go a day without covering the plight of immigrants of all stripes, and it's all happening here under the bowler hat.
Of course, having no space to call home is no laughing matter -- especially since Synetic must move between area theaters, even mid-run, as in the case of The Immigrant. This must be taking its toll.
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