Us

Movie Name: Us
Year of Release: 2019
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyongo, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry, Ashley McKoy, Napiera Groves
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis and Review

Following the commercial and critical success of his feature debut, "Get Out", writer/producer/director Jordan Peele followed up with an equally riveting film, that was once again just as celebrated as his first. "Us" focuses its narrative on Adelaide Wilson. We first encounter her as a child in an amusement park with her parents. There's a considerable amount of tension in her parents relationship, and Adelaide wanders off once they're focused on other things. She finds herself in a spook house, where the reflections scare her, until in one of the reflections she realizes there's another little girl, looking just like her, staring back. The story jumps forth a few decades, and Adelaide is now married, has two children, and her family is on its way to their Summer home. They meet with their friends at the beach, and Adelaide is a bit weary of the whole situation, and mostly just wants time for herself. They get back home and when it's nighttime, and as everyone is about to turn in for the night, Jason warns everyone there's a family standing in their driveway. That family, all dressed in red jumpers, come roaring inside their house, and much to Adelaide and her family's surprise, the strangers look exactly like them. They're replicas of them. Adelaide's replica starts explaining who they are, and what they intend to do, and while that happens the original one is focused on finding ways to escape, since she suspects there's a sinister motive behind the invasion.

One of the most interesting things about Jordan Peele's feature films, is the fact that he manages to create unexpected turns in the narrative without ever making those turns feel like they're the point and purpose to the feature itself. Some have criticized M. Night Shyamalan for instance, for making his feature films revolve around a key narrative ploy that is revealed towards the third arc of his narrative, however Jordan Peele has managed to deflect that criticism by creating an environment that is seemingly conventional and familiar, only to quickly be destabilized with the introduction of what can only be described as an extreme occurrence. These odd occurrences have happened on all his features thus far, starting with "Get Out", "Us" and the more recently "Nope". "Us" is particularly well crafted, since essentially Jordan Peele guides us to a reality that lies on the other side of the mirror, just like Alice in Wonderland. The mirror that Adelaide witnesses at the beginning of the feature, is an adequate metaphor for what happens subsequently, only the events that unfurl are far more emotionally and physically painful. The surreal aspect of what happens in the narrative, in no way diminishes its impact, and the fact that the central family, all families as it turns out, are threatened and in danger. The film could have benefited from slightly more established supporting characters (in particular Winston Duke's character), but Lupita Nyongo carves a fantastic performance by embodying two sides of the same person with enough nuance, highlighting aspects of self preservation, fear, and love. It's a complex role, and as our host/narrator, she does a remarkable job of taking us through all the nightmarish occurrences, and what she'll do preserve herself and her family. The supporting cast is equally strong even if their characters lack as much substance as the lead, including Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker as the token friends, and Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex as Adelaide's children (and as their doppelgangers). The production team is equally solid, including Michael Abels' score, Michael Gioulakis' cinematography and Ruth de Jong's production design. A good film worth watching.