Get Out

2017, Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele) -- cinema

My word of the week is (was, when i started writing this) "dumpster fire" and that pretty much describes the current race relations in the US. In many ways, Canada is not much better but we tend to think we are, because we are generally better at keeping our mouths shut. But in the recent years dispensing with all sense of what can be said (i.e. freedom of speech) vs what should be said, a lot of closeted bigots have opened their gaping yaws. And note, I haven't even mentioned Donald Trump despite him making it an American Way to think in this manner.

So, bravo, complete and utter hoo-rah for Jordan Peele to come along with an utter chilling story of a black man in a very scary white situation. His is a very very skilled horror cum thriller story, but its brilliance is in how it relates the political situation going on currently. As a Average White Guy, I felt completely and utterly uncomfortable watching this movie, which was entirely intentional and appropriate.

Chris (black) is being taken by his girlfriend (white) home to see her parents, her very rich parents in The Country. The introduction is all about this discomfort. Has she told them he is black? How will they react? Are they stylishly not-racist or just good at hiding their feelings? All the conversation bits happen, including the idea of a very urban kid heading out to spend a weekend outside the city. He's uncomfortable, we're uncomfortable and the only one not is her. She is very very confident it will all work out and that Chris will enjoy his weekend. Alarm bells!

The trip along the country road sets the tone. A bigoted cop cannot help but demand ID, and the over protective girlfriend intimidates the also white cop into backing down. Chris is just not happy to be there, instantly regretting his decision to step outside his comfort zone. Again, I am twisting and turning in my seat. Once they arrive at the house, things just continue to get weirder as the over-compensating parents (ultra hippy Catherine Keener and The Cabin in the Woods Bradley Whitford) mix scenes with "but they were hired by the grandparents" black servants. Chris begins to wonder if he is in a horror movie.

That's the thing, this is not trying to be an ultimately original horror movie. The scares from guessing what is going on and feeling complicit. Oh fuck, oh shit, they really are going down that road !! This is not a slasher movie where Chris will be first to die. This is all about, and only about Chris. Peele knows who his audience is, both white and black, and plays it up for them. He also knows the tropes and pop culture elements of horror movies, and devises a self-aware movie that both plays on the best aspects of them.

I know how I reacted as a typical white male. But I am curious as to how the black audience reacted. Was it ground breaking for them? Over the top? Too moderate? Just another horror movie? In the end, the experience is very personal, very based on your own experience, which I believe is what Peele intended.