Movies about making movies run the risk of feeling over-indulgent, mythologizing the role of the movies to the point of pretension, and alienating the average audience. Nope is unquestionably about the relationship between the camera and its subject, and it may leave some viewers wanting, but it's packed with some of the finest filmmaking a discerning crowd could see this year. If any aspect of the film's promise holds appeal, learn nothing else about it, and see Nope immediately.
After Get Outand Us, anything Jordan Peele could put to screen will be dealing with some truly massive expectations. Thankfully, the comedian turned horror auteur seems to regard the expectations of his audience with either complete disinterest or open contempt. As a result, what he turns in is a singularly personal project that interrogates filmmaking as art, sacrifice, and salvation.
Nope opens on some truly threatening imagery and sound design which gradually gives way to its plot, starting as it means to go on. The film's heroes are OJ and Emerald Haywood, professional Hollywood horse trainers struggling to keep their storied family business afloat. OJ is a beaten-down soul, forced to grow up after the tragic death of his father, and the years of hard living have made him taciturn, stoic, and strong-willed. Emerald, by contrast, is an electric force of charisma, constantly seeking an angle to take command of every situation. As Haywood Hollywood Horses continues its slow and tragic decline, OJ finds himself selling off his prized talent to a neighboring business, a kitschy carnival sideshow run by a former child star. As night falls over the beautiful mountains of Agua Dulce, the backdrop of many classic films, strange happenings threaten to shake the foundation of both businesses.
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The marketing behind Nope cleverly kept even the slightest detail of its horror under wraps, so fans hoping to enter without a clue should tune out now. After OJ's first encounter with the film's source of fear, he and his sister come up with a plan. Rather than the obvious plan, run screaming and never look back, Em and OJ seek to capture the first real footage of a truly unidentified flying object. In that pursuit, they arm their home with cameras with the help of conspiracy theorist tech-bro Angel and enlist the aid of eccentric auteur cinematographer Antlers Holst. As the supernatural events grow in scale, OJ begins to understand the nature of the beast, and the humble crew must pick up their gear and make a masterpiece.
Even if an audience is unwilling to get where Peele needs them and walks away unsatisfied with the unique genre-bending narrative, there is so much pure artistry on display from all sides. Anyone with the slightest desire to see Nope owes it to themselves to see it in theaters. It's the kind of spectacular cinematic event that is served best by the huge silver screen and the powerful speakers. It's an audiovisual treat without equal. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema imbues the camera with lofty omniscience that grants its audience an intimate connection with the cast and plenty of stellar beauty shots of the Agua Dulce desert. The film was shot on location, and that was one of the most important choices of its visual style. One can see the westerns that once used that location in the film's unique presentation. Its sound direction is also a wonder, routinely capturing something beyond understanding through the clever use of its unique soundscape.s
Though there's a ton of influence present in the film's DNA, Nope feels original and singular. Its hero feels like he wandered out of a modern western. Its antagonist flew in from a black-and-white 50s sci-fi classic. Its characters name-drop fictional Saturday Night Live bits with genuine reverence. It's not borrowing pieces of other people's movies to build something new, it's a film about the art of filmmaking. The camera is a tool that captures beauty, a weapon that erases humanity, a predator that kills at will, and an incomprehensible eldritch horror with the power to end all things. It's all the spectacle of a sci-fi blockbuster, with the added benefit of forcing its audience to think about what that means.
Those working behind the camera are in top form, but those in front of it will be the one's rightfully lavished with praise. Peele has written some of the most complete and well-realized characters of the modern era, complete with countless tiny details that contribute more than a hundred lines of dialogue could. Keke Palmer is incredible here, a dominant presence who still manages to feel sincerely human. Daniel Kaluuya is tasked with a more understated, but no less important role, which he brings to life with incredible heart. His permanently bloodshot eyes and fed-up expression are central to the film's imagery. Together, they create one of the most realistic sibling dynamics ever put to screen.
Stephen Yeun's washed-up child star desperately clinging to his last vestiges of fame could've carried a movie on his own. Brandon Perea makes his feature film debut with a solid performance that slides between comedy and terror. Michael Wincott returns to the big screen for the first time in five years, and his otherworldly voice and foreboding presence grant him an incredibly memorable performance. The cast is stellar, and they elevate the material even further beyond its excellent status.
Nope is fiercely intelligent, genuinely scary, wonderfully weird, and it represents the harmony of countless immense talents giving their all. In its indulgence, it represents a beloved filmmaker struggling against himself to find the place where his ambition finally outpaces his talent. If that place exists, Nope isn't it, because there's nothing that this film tries to do that it doesn't do well.
Nope
Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Nope follows the owners of a family-run Hollywood horse ranch whose lives are changed by extraterrestrial phenomena. Siblings Otis (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer) scramble to understand events that seem to defy all explanation, even as their neighbor (Steven Yeun) tries to turn the strange occurrences into a alien tourist attraction.