Title: Nope
Year: 2022
Director: Jordan Peele
Country: US
Language: English
As the run-time of Jordan Peele's Nope came to a close, I was asking myself a one word question; "What?" What did I just see? Did I like what I saw? As I pondered about the film & assembled what I just viewed, I realized I witnessed a remarkable work of art. Peele has made a film that is just as terrifying as his debut feature Get Out (2017).
After random objects falling from the sky result in the death of their father, ranch-owning siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood attempt to capture video evidence of an unidentified flying object.
Like Hitchcock's Rear Window, Peele's Nope is about scopophilia. It is about our addiction to viewing & recording; the inability to look away even when something utterly terrifying is about to unfold. Shot by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema using IMAX cameras, Nope's visuals are quite unsettling.
Peele's script is layered in emotion and complex character development. He's a master at creating suspenseful moments that build up and ultimately leave us breathless. His exquisite use of formal filmmaking technique will leave critics calling him this generation's Hitchcock in no time.
I do think the film will dissatisfy some viewers however; the film build's up to what this "UFO" thing is and it is...not what anybody is expecting. My initial reaction was "really?", but ultimately I thought it was a good artistic choice.
