Nope (2022, R)

*Premise spoilers.*

I’m a latecomer to Jordan Peele’s third feature film. Between the cast, the trailers, and Peele’s past stellar work, I was all in, but I don’t get out to the theaters nearly as often as I did in the before times. So I missed this one on the big screen, and then it took a while for it to hit a streaming service I had. But it’s on Amazon Prime now, and I’m so glad I finally had a chance to bask in the awesomeness of this movie.

Adult siblings O.J. and Em are trying to get by. They lost their father in a freak accident six months ago, and now O.J. is doing the best he can to keep the family farm and animal wrangler business going. Em is not doing her best to help, but when O.J. sees something strange in the sky one night, she gets an idea. Soon, the two are working together to capture the mysterious sighting on film in the hopes of selling the footage and making enough to secure the farm.

While all firmly in the “scary” genre—Nope has more of a sci-fi bent than straight-up horror, but it features plenty of tense and unsettling moments—each of Peele’s films firmly establishes a unique spot for itself, perhaps none more so than this one. Even though elements of the story can be found in other films, especially others that blend sci-fi and horror, Nope doesn’t feel been-there-done-that. The ride it takes us on is entirely its own.

That ride, it should be said, builds slowly and deliberately. I can understand why the film isn’t to everyone’s taste, but personally, I loved it. I like the blend of larger-than-life horrors and mundane humor, the slow laying out of all the little moving parts that will finally come together in the exciting third act.  So many moments in the film are recontexualized as the story presses forward, and even a several days out from watching it, I’m still finding new revelations in it. Seemingly out-of-left-field glimpses into the past take on important new meaning in the present.

I know there’s some recency bias factoring in here, but I honestly think this might be my favorite Jordan Peele movie so far. I was fully drawn in as I watched the film put itself together like a puzzle in front of me, leaning forward during the slower quiet scenes and feeling my muscles tighten during the wilder suspenseful scenes. I also just like the feeling I had at the end of the movie, which can be an important factor in my overall impressions.

Another reason I was really taken by the film was the characters. O.J. and Em couldn’t be more different—observant, even-keeled O.J. and bold, never-stops-moving Em—but despite that, they seem to get each other in a way that no one else really does. As much as they can get on each other’s nerves, when the shit hits the fan, they really come through for each other. I love Daniel Kaluuya’s understated but impactful performance as O.J., and Keke Palmer hits all the right flaky-little-sister notes as Em. Both are terrific on their own and utterly wonderful together.

Steven Yeun turns in excellent work as Jupe, a former child star whose Wild West theme park is near the farm. Yeun is an actor who’s always interesting to watch, and Jupe gives him plenty to work with. I’m not familiar with Brandon Perea, who plays overeager electronics-store guy Angel, but he’s great, and the film also features a brief turn from Keith David as O.J. and Em’s dad.

Warnings

Violence (though more of it is implied than explicitly shown,) disturbing images, language, drinking/smoking/drug use, and thematic elements.