Pakish News We are an interactive media group that here a purpose to update users with the latest information. Our mission is to give you knowledge not only about your surroundings. We will also update you around the Globe.
No,
Cast: Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Keke Palmer, and Daniel Kaluuya
Director: Jordan Peele, nope
Stars: 3.5 out of 5
When it comes to Hollywood’s predilection for grandiose movies, masterpieces like Jaws and E.T. by Steven Spielberg immediately come to mind. These movies have a superior sensory quality that fully immerses the viewer in their worlds. Jordan Peele, taking inspiration from several movies including M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs, among others, tries to create something similar with Nope, a thriller that explores various aspects of the extraterrestrial encounter and human responses to it.
Peele’s latest film, Nope, follows his previous works, including Get Out and Us, by taking the story through bold and sometimes unsatisfactory turns. In Nope, there are moments when Peele seems to go a little too far in distinguishing the science fiction thriller with its subtle treatment of the Haywood twins. Fortunately for Jordan, Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya both deliver their A games, allowing him to experiment with Nope and its genre-bending ride on the shoulders of an amazing cast.
Nope takes us to Agua Dulce, California in the South. There, Otis Haywood Jr., also known as O.J. (Kaluuya), and his father, Keith David, run their stable of mares and stallions while operating Haywood Hollywood Horses, the first Black-owned horse training business in the industry. The film starts with the inexplicable death of O.J.’s father. When he dies, O.J. reunites with his estranged sister Emerald (Keke Palmer), often known as Em, to run the company they have inherited. O.J., a reserved wrangler, and Em, who radiates contagious energy, effectively symbolize the two sides of California together.
The siblings’ strained relationship does not improve as they run the family business in different ways, with Em viewing it only as a “side gig.” Strange events begin to unfold on O. J.’s ranch, and as he struggles to decide whether to accept the payout or sell their horses to the local theme park owner, Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), he starts to notice something unusual about a patch of cloud that hasn’t moved in weeks. O.J. and Em are ready to face it head-on and possibly even profit from it as they try to uncover the unknown threat looming over them.
A recurring theme in Peele’s Nope is the idea that humans are predisposed to exploit foreign experiences, especially in contexts like Hollywood, where profiting from suffering is easier than introspection. This theme manifests in the story of Ricky Park (Yeun), who turns his painful childhood memories into a memorabilia business. Since the Hayword siblings descend from the unidentified Black jockey in Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 film The Race Horse, the first motion picture, it is significant for them to establish their own legacy.
Nope skillfully intercuts scenes from Ricky’s humiliating childhood experience as a child star on a show with a chimpanzee that goes berserk during filming, creating an unbearably terrifying moment on stage. The chimp’s actions, the UFO-shaped object hovering over the ranch, and our innate desire to capitalize on everything combine to form a complex allegory that might lead viewers to conclude that Peele wants us to learn a major lesson from this movie. Whether it’s O.J.’s realization that you should never look your adversary in the eye in a world of fragmented racial relations or the acknowledgment that we are partly responsible for the environmental disaster the world is heading towards.
Nope is a slow-burner film by Peele that builds suspense and tension in the first half. Cinematographer Hoyte von Hoytema provides a brilliant vision that perfectly complements Jordan’s twisted ideas that play with our minds throughout the film. The film deserves viewing on an IMAX screen as every frame promises an immersive experience, further enhanced by the eerie score composed by Michael Abels.
Kaluuya and Peele could make Hollywood history as the new director-actor duo. Without uttering a word, Daniel embodies the role of O.J. with such grace that his body language and silent glances effectively convey the character’s place in the world. If you need more proof that the movie’s title is apt, Kaluuya’s ability to say “Nope” in one of the most crucial scenes suffices. The focal point of this movie is Keke Palmer’s Em. She effortlessly balances Em’s emotional depth with her vibrant aura. Brando Parea plays Angel, a heartbroken technical assistant from an electronics store who joins the Haywood siblings’ alien-spotting adventure, offering some comic relief to the suspenseful movie. Michael Wincott and Steven Yeun also deliver strong performances.
While Nope might not surpass Jordan Peele’s previous films in every aspect, it remains an ambitious and visually stunning movie with a thought-provoking theme. Additionally, it emotionally grounds itself with a sibling story that Kaluuya and Palmer’s performances elevate.
You must be logged in to post a comment.