Oh, my, gosh...
I have been a fan of Jordan Peele purely through his work as a comedian for as long as I can remember, so as a self-proclaimed fan I am honestly ashamed that I haven't watched more of Peele's directorial work. Granted, I am not a big fan of horror or mystery/suspense films (or at least I wasn't until we watched the masterpiece that is 2017's Get Out), otherwise I probably wouldn't have waited this long to do so.
But no, you do not have to wait to hear me say the words; Jordan Peele IS. A. GENIUS!
The foreshadowing. The symbolism. The social relevance and social lenses. All of these factors and more make this film so amazing.
First off: Social relevance+ Social lenses
I think Peele does a great job at using the genre to tell bigger stories such as racism. There are smaller remarks made by the older white characters throughout the film such as Dean Armitage (Rose's father) making comments about "voting for Obama a 3rd time if he could" and many of the Armitage family's wealthy white friends saying inappropriate things to Chris when they first meet him, such as
- how "black is in fashion"
- how their favorite golfer is Tiger Woods, a well-known Black golfer
- making comments about Chris' physique, among other things
Yes, all of these comments made sense towards the plot in terms of the intentions of these wealthy white people, but Peele cleverly include these microaggressions as a dig at society.
The other big thing that pops out during this portion of the film is the "Bingo" scene, where Chris is being auctioned off. This scene has eerie similarities to the concept of slavery which makes the scene almost uncomfortable to watch yet so powerful at the same time.
And of course, a scene I cannot fail to mention is the final scene where Chris nearly escapes the house before Rose, his ex-girlfriend- now captor, catches up to him tries to kill him. After she is shot, Chris attempts to strangle her. The focus of the camera is on Rose's distressed facial expression that turns into an evil smile. It's important to note that there isn't any sound during this shot, but it can be implied that Rose heard the sirens of a cop car approaching and began to smile because she thought she was going to get away with everything.
This was a subtle poke at the racism within the justice system and how Black people and other POC are unfairly and unequally punished by law enforcement. Now, Chris would obviously be guilty for strangling Rose and she probably could have convinced authorities that Chris also killed Walter in the process, but that would have been such a frustrating ending to the film, especially since the audience just saw everything that Chris went through to get out of the house and survive.
Which is why it was soooooo satisfying when Rod is revealed as the driver of the cop car!
And as far as foreshadowing goes...
The most obvious use is done through the deer. Chris and Rose hit a deer as they head down to the Armitage house, but the only damage to the car seems to be on the passenger side where Chris was sitting. This also plays into the way that Chris ultimately escapes the Armitage house, which I think is such a smart choice on Peele's part.
So to reiterate everything that I've said before: this movie is amazing. Jordan Peele is a genius, and Get Out has turned me into a fan of the genre. With all that being said, Get Out deserves a 10/10, and I can't wait to watch more of Peele's films as well as others like it.
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