'Us' Review by Webb

Us Review

Jordan Peele

It’s still hard to believe that the mind behind Ibrahim Moizoos and Meegan is the same mind that wrote, produced, and Directed Get Out. And here he is again with Us.
Any worries about a sophomore slump; quickly went away. Peele didn’t approach this movie as like a connected universe or direct copy of Get Out. You can really see that he had a Different story that he wanted to tell

Plot

The basic story (without getting into spoilers) is about a family on vacation confronted by doppelgangers known as the Tethered. That’s all I’m saying about it
Due to the layers, themes, symbolism, and inside jokes within Get Out, I got ahead of the story way more than I should have for Us.
I honestly shouldn’t have tried to outsmart the movie and just spent more time enjoying the ride
Due to all of the buzz that came once the movie was announced, I spent so much time analyzing the trailer and trying to figure out the theme/subtext, I was doing everything short of taking notes

Cast

Lupita Nyong’o did an INCREDIBLE job portraying dual roles. As the main character, the story is pretty much on her shoulders and Lupita carries it almost effortlessly. The little nuances she makes for both characters are amazing and make total sense within the context of the plot. Those not paying attention will DEFINITELY see what i mean in a second viewing.
As for the rest of the cast, it definitely looked like everyone had fun letting loose as their Tethered counterparts. There were a few moments where everyone got to shine in some form or another in the film.
Tim Heidecker almost stole the show as horror comic relief. His Tethered alternative to his Josh character, Tex, completely chewed up the scenery in a scary, yet almost delightful playfulness that reminds me of Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance character in the Shining.
Winston Duke playing the nerdy comic relief felt like he was handicapped the most (no puns intended) as far as character development goes.
Shahadi Wright Joseph’s Zora character also felt less personal than her Tethered character, Umbrae. But there was a bit of a payoff as far as character development, going from a jaded teenager that is disengaged with family activities to taking an active role in the family’s survival.

Horror

Wasn't that scary to me, but there was a great sense of dread as to whether the entire family would survive or be picked off
Love how there weren’t any cliche or dumb decisions, cliche or dumb deaths, or boring horror movie tropes
With the exception of the doppelgangers (which kind of made sense), everyone made smart decisions

Overall

Great second outing for Jordan Peele. This pretty much solidified his spot in Horror/Filmmaking
Very enjoyable if you come in with a blank slate

Too many times i tried to jump to conclusions/deductions before the movie even started and that slightly took the thrill out of certain moments

Amazing blend of comedy and horror, where the levity is more of a coping mechanism for the horror as opposed to undermining the horror (perfectly example being Winston Duke’s Gabe character).
Heard complaints about “plot holes” about the tethered, but the questions I kept hearing seemed like they were asking for more worldbuilding. All of the answers we Need (as opposed to those we Want) are within the story

Themes/Subtext (Spoilers)

Tethered: classism; indigenous tribe, poor, basically anyone that can be labeled “Other”

To show that we’re literally not so different; they're the same as us, but under circumstances out of their control
Government made them out of intentions to control the Above, but abandoned them
Addy being a Tethered that grew into a almost well adjusted member of society is proof of the Tethered being capable of having humanity despite their origins,
There may be some symbolism of colonialism involving them rising up and killing and replacing their Above counterparts, but that's just a shot in the dark

The Scissors

Jordan Peele has gone on record to say that they represent the duality of the characters in the story
Ironic that they are two pieces united to cut apart other objects
Honestly, being stabbed with such a mundane, easily accessible but distinct object as gold scissors is pretty damn scary as opposed to a gun or an axe

Jason/Pluto: their masks were a representation of their counterparts (wolfman/human)

Jason still had a bit of control over Pluto (most likely due to him being the youngest)

Possibly showing that the youngest are still susceptible to being controlled/influenced by the very things our elders refuse/rebel against

Jeremiah 11:11

On the surface, it’s just a typical apocalypse quote
Intentionally used the numbers 11:11 to further showcase the duality theme
The actual bible story this passage is from involves the prophet Jeremiah warning Jerusalem was facing destruction due to false idols

Family’s Kill Count

Peele found very creative ways to kill the kids without being overly gratuitous
Everyone except Gabe killed in very blatant, intentional ways (when you see the kills)

Do the kids have part of the Tethered instincts to kill? Since they’re mother is a Tethered, do they have half of a soul?

How the families were attacked may have some symbolism

The Wilsons were proactive towards a disturbance in their home as opposed to the Tylers being inactive (Josh wanting to stay in his “cozy place”). The Wilsons stuck together when something was amiss as opposed to the Tylers being separated/divided.
The Tylers were what Gabe aspired to be in a keeping up with the Joneses context, but those very things that Gabe coveted (specifically technology and a big house) ended up failing to save the Tyler’s lives

The ending is not confusing if you are watching the ending

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