Get Out- Review
I have been waiting forever to see this movie, as soon as I saw the first trailer. It sucks how movies in Australia usually get postponed while other countries get the benefit of early release dates but yesterday I attended a premiere, a special event premiere that granted me a seat to see this movie before the rest of Australia. This movie was directed by Jordan Peele and features the talents of Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford.
So without taking too much away from this film, it is a psychological horror film that follows a young photographer, Chris Washington and his relationship with his white girlfriend Rose Armitage as they go to visit her parents for the weekend. In a strange twist of events involving hypnotism, Chris finds himself spiralling into the unknown as everything around him begins to distort and become unclear.
The Performances: Holy damn, Daniel Kaluuya is so brilliant in this film. His character was relevant, sometimes haunting and so well received that I just had to sit in my chair even after the credits rolled wondering how someone could perform so well. I love actors who are able to give you something. Something raw and realistic. I don't even think that the length of this even compares to just how fantastic he was. I'd love to see more films with Daniel and especially ones like this.
Allison Williams played the role of Rose and it's unfortunate that I can't say anything about the progression of her characterisation. But overall her acting was brilliant and she too, is able to carry out her character consistently and effectively.
Catherine Keener as the role of Mrs. Armitage is one that I find most haunting. Like many people who don't appreciate others getting inside their head, I found her to be disturbing and felt almost as if she was getting inside my head too. From a psychological point of view, hypnotism is used to get inside the minds of others and try and deter them from something that may be hindering their life...in this case, smoking. But her complete aura during this film was freaky and every time I saw her appear, I knew something crazy was about to happen.
Bradly Whitford played the role of Mr. Armitage, a neurosurgeon. Again, like Allison, we can't give away too much of his role here or the significance behind it but I found him to be equally as disturbing as I reached the middle of the film. Having the themes of racism and stereotyping in this film helps to give Bradley's character more understanding and relevance.
I honestly can't think of anything in this film that made me unhappy. I do believe this film could have gone two ways but even if they did, I'm sure it would have been equally as brilliant. Jordan Peele just knew exactly what he was doing and I am so proud of what he came up with. This could easily be my favourite of the year (so far). The cinematography for this was also just so crisp, so thanks to Toby Oliver for his talents there. Music is also a huge factor in this film because how else do you create something so haunting and eerie? With music. The music was directed by Michael Abels and definitely had me crapping my pants a little throughout.
If you haven't already seen this film, do yourself a massive favour and go ahead and watch it. While I'm not a massive fan of horror movies, psychological horrors are the best and this one deserves so much credit.
Score: 10/10
MA15+ strong themes and violence