Us: Film Review

Synopsis

Us follows Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o), her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), and their children, Zora and Jason (Shahadi Wright-Joseph and Evan Alex, respectively). After a harrowing experience at the beach as a child, Adelaide and her family, while on summer vacation, visit Santa Cruz beach in Los Angeles. Strange occurrences are peppered throughout the day all culminating to the sight of a family standing in the Wilsons' driveway. That family is a family of doppelgangers to the Wilsons. The rest of the film follows the Wilsons and their doppelgangers and the twists, turns, and terrors that ensue.

Review

If I could describe Us in one word, it would be OUTSTANDING! It is a brilliant horror masterpiece directed masterfully by Jordan Peele. This movie was so in his wheelhouse. I will go as far as saying that nobody else could have done this film so well. It is very well executed as a "horror" (in quotations because it is more of a psychological thriller) film. Us is suspenseful, but not that jumpy, which I believe works in service of the film. It was very smart of Peele to pull back off the jumps (not to say that they're not there) and focus on the psyche, thus adding to the psychological thriller elements. For me, the twist that occurs at the end of the film was a bit predictable, but mainly because of a discrepancy between the trailer and the film itself.  The score in this film is OFF THE CHARTS, especially the orchestral version of "I Got 5 On It." The acting is very strong in this film. Everyone is pulling double duty, playing their characters and their doppelgangers, and everyone succeeds in doing so. Winston Duke is the perfect "bad-dad-joke" dad and his doppelganger couldn't be more of the opposite. Shahadi Wright-Joseph and Evan Alex are borderline nightmarish as their doppelgangers Umbrae and Pluto (their names aren't given in the film until the credits roll), respectively. Lupita Nyong'o delivers an Oscar-worthy performance, not as Adelaide (not to say that she wasn't great in that role, too), but as Red, her doppelganger. Her raspy voice and creepy smile make my back tingle just thinking about it. This movie is a metaphor for America, in that Americans' worst enemy is other Americans (the "Tethered" actually refer to themselves as Americans). Us is a very layered film that requires much thought after and maybe even a second viewing. As an aside, the ending to this film is very ambiguous. I am still, as of 3/24/2019, trying to figure it out.