Get Out

African-American Chris visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s mysterious family estate. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

Cast

Daniel Kaluuya – Chris

Allison Williams – Rose Armitage

Bradley Whitford – Dean Armitage

Catherine Keener – Mrs. Armitage

Caleb Landry Jones – Mr. Armitage

Betty Gabriel – Georgina

Lil Rel Howery – Rod

LaKeith Stanfield – Andre / Logan

 

Superb

Get Out. Simple title, full-on movie. What a gripping little gem this is, I was absolutely hooked from opening to close. Hollywood – or in fact the entire movie industry – hasn’t cooked up a story like this in years; the idea of people being controlled and used by other people for various things. It’s a sinister plot I love because it brings an air of dread to the screen, the suspense surrounding the main character and the robotic people he or she has to try and save – or not.

Get Out oozes the similar juices of features such as The Stepford Wives (1975) and House of Wax (2005). It strips seemingly ordinary people of their morals and, like the above movies, places them in an ethical spotlight where the viewer gets to decide if these people are doing the right thing or not (apart from House of Wax, obviously. You can’t wonder if coating people in wax is right – unless you’re watching Fifty Shades of Grey). And in a sense this movie is sad; watching characters who once had bright personalities reduced to robots at the hands of selfish others. The bell of familiarity rang again as I thought of Channel 4’s Humans. A UK television series which shows what the world would be like if we had our own personally controlled ‘people’. You can’t deny it’s a fascinating concept, as well as being slightly wrong. Hats off to director Jordan Peele and his producers for cracking the shell of human nature and allowing a highly refreshing, almost unexplored concept to come forward.

Allison Williams who plays Rose has to be one of the most talented performers I’ve seen in a movie in years. I warmed to her character immediately during the first half hour of Get Out;  Williams portrays a sweet, loveable relationship girl. The epitome of the perfect girl a guy would love to take home to introduce to his parents. I had no idea what would happen to her character…

** BELOW COMMENTS CONTAIN A SPOILER **

..she gets nasty.

I had a slight feeling at the beginning of the movie Rose might be in on some sort of weird plan, although this wasn’t stark obvious. As mentioned, the woman does a brilliant job of being the sweet family girl. But towards the movie’s end, she completely changes. When it is revealed she is part of her parent’s sick plan, the scene changes to other characters – then a few minutes later we return to her bedroom where a young woman is seen sitting on her bed.
I had to double-take, as I genuinely wondered who the hell the woman was.
It was Rose.

Complete costume, hair and makeup overhaul which turned the actress into something else. And her acting was stepped up a notch too, with the girl you see in the beginning becoming the polar opposite of herself. Fantastic bit of character transition here, I cannot fault the actress whatsoever.
And the scene where she is on the phone to Chris’s friend Rod is just hilarious. The way she feigns the concerned girlfriend is fantastic. Try putting on a panicked voice whilst keeping your face completely emotionless, or crying and wailing without moving an inch of your face – this is basically what she does.  It’s almost abnormal.
Welcome to Get Out.

Betty Gabriel who plays Georgina is equally as impressive as the sinister housekeeper. Within the first few seconds of entering the Armitage residence, Chris is introduced to her. Gabriel delivers a highly engaging performance, simply with rigid posture and glaring facial expressions. The woman comes across so nice she’s almost scary. And this is stepped up a notch later in the movie during a scene between Chris and Georgina when they get a moment alone. Cue the woman’s scarily funny phrase,

“no. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..”

A phrase I reckon will soon become very familiar with cult movie fans worldwide however one-worded it is.
And tears falling from her eyes as she delivers the line ensure the atmosphere hurtles into something twisted, darkly intriguing. I found this scene between the pair highly entertaining – one of those moments that genuinely keep you transfixed on the screen in front of you. Screw the hypnosis in the movie, I felt tranced by the incredibly talented cast ensemble I was watching.
This was turning out to be one of the best movies I had seen in years.

Extraction Attraction

Aside from its twisted plot full of twists, one of the elements of this movie that stands out the most for me is the whole ‘crying’ thing. The incredibly easy way a few of the lead actors let the tears flow. Kaluuya is a perfect example; the scene involving Mrs. Armitage and Chris as she questions him over his relationship with Rose. The man sits there and switches on the waterworks like a tap. His ability to cry instantly is superb, and I found the extraction of tears one of the most impressive elements.

This scene isn’t just fuelled by tears though, Keener brings an air of dread as the strangely relaxed mother figure. With those studying, squinty eyes and a naturally mysterious look she fits the role effortlessly. Sometimes in movies an actor plays a part he or she nails perfectly – because they look the part at the same time as acting it. Keener is no exception; the woman has those hippy-bitch facial features down to a (cup of) T. Her deliciously evil undercurrent is the icing on a truly fucked up cake. Top marks here.

I recently discovered Get Out is inspired by a Black Mirror idea. Black Mirror of course being one of the most bizarre TV creations to come out of the UK. It’s a darkly funny yet deadly serious collection of short films, each with an observant storyline and serious message to the viewer inspired by how we all live in present day (technology, etc.). I’m really not surprised by the fact this movie takes inspiration from this; it contains all the ingredients of an episode but with one winning element – it steps forward. What could have been condensed into a television feature was thankfully saved from this and given 101 minutes on the big screen. A wise move, because with some of the shit playing recently Get Out serves as sheer relief.

What Went Wrong

I hate this bit.
But I have to.

I was slightly confused near the end of this movie, mainly due to lack of description of how the Armitage family’s terrible actions are performed. A video plays near the end of the movie in which a gentleman tells Chris what he wants and how he’s going to get it, but not how the process is going to take place.
What happens to both people?
How does the ‘transition’ happen?
Armed with a scalpal, one of the main characters is seen about to do something horrible in the next scene. The explanation of this transition is revealed – but incredibly rushed, so that it seems as though a long build-up results in an anti-climax. Get Out lacks slightly in plot detail, not great.

Without trying to give the plot away, the violent scenes between certain characters at the end of the movie aren’t overly gripping. For example, someone gets bludgeoned – but you barely see the other person raise their arm or the object hit the victim. It’s all a bit light-hearted unfortunately. I don’t condone violence, but a bit of juiciness wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Yep, you guessed it – I hated this movie.

Ha!

Get Out is honestly one of the best, most fucked-up movies I have seen in years. And opinions I’ve had from other people have also been positive.
With a darkly intriguing, almost old-fashioned opening (think Halloween 1978, or It Follows 2015), this movie grows in suspense as its story snakes its way scarily along. It makes a very watchable piece of film and this is supported by the fact it excludes any lengthy, boring crap and delivers the goods in a timely way.
Brilliant stuff.

..so brilliant, I went back for dessert.