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Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:05 am
by zedz
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I suspect Peele had a lot more of this script thought out than actually remained on the page or in the film. And cutting everything right down to make it more of a disorienting thrill ride might be the cause of a lot of audience confusion and dissatisfaction. In many respects the movie doesn't play by conventional Hollywood expository rules, which is something I like about it. I must admit that I rolled my eyes when the entire back story of the film's underlying premise was basically reduced to one line of expository dialogue, but I kind of love the chutzpah of that when looking back on it, as I'd rather watch the movie we got than an
elaborate sci-fi "men in white coats" one.
In the end, we don't need to know more than the bare minimum for the outre situation to function as an effective metaphor, and the more we know, the more likely it would weaken the metaphor by adding all sorts of unhelpful specificities.
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:08 am
by zedz
therewillbeblus wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:57 am
oh and the
first thing my partner said as we walked out of the theatre was, “where the fuck did they get all those scissors?”
Red's Masterplan
Step 1 (of 4,782): Interpretive Dance
Step 2 (of 4,782): Take over a scissors factory (any scissors factory will do, but scary scissors preferred)
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:00 am
by Feego
zedz wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:54 am
Another bit I really don't get is the look exchanged by Adelaide and Jason at the end of the film.
It seems conspiratorial, and the obvious explanation is that he's also an usurper, and she recognizes this and it's an "I know you know I know" moment. But I can't think of any way that could work plot-wise. Does anybody have a better read of that moment?
My interpretation of that moment was that Jason realized who she was, and she knew that. I only watched this for the first time a little over a month ago, but wasn't he trapped in a locker near where "Red" and "Adelaide" had their duel? Perhaps he heard enough of their conversation to figure out that his mother was born underground. I don't think he swapped places, because as you say that would not make sense plot-wise. Jason is portrayed as a little odd throughout, very quiet and observant, especially compared to his sister who's glued to her phone all the time. He notices the strange man at the beach and later draws him. In this respect, he's certainly closer to his mother in personality, so I think he being the one to unmask her, so to speak (and I don't think his interest in masks is a coincidence here), is actually a smart way to end the film.
Great discussion so far, and I have to say one of the reasons this movie frustrates me so much is because I actually do like most of it. There seems to be a really clever metaphor, and it's well made and brilliantly acted. Lupita N'yongo is just stellar here. But it trips over itself with way too much information when keeping it simple and mysterious would have invited more engagement (from me).
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:30 am
by therewillbeblus
It was a strange moment, but I felt similarly- even on a simpler level though. She’s his mom and as Feego said he’s always felt that connection with her. It ultimately leaves a strange option open that it doesn’t matter within the context of their relationship who she
really is because she’s his mother, not only an alien sleeper agent who’s been triggered by these events as our perspective has been in the last act. The look brings us back to the start and with a wider scope, and makes us consider that relativism which also contributes to the ideas raised by zedz in his initial post:
zedz wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 7:33 pmIf there's actually no real difference between 'Us' and 'Them' (and note that the film is pointedly coy about how it identifies the two groups - e.g. "we're Americans"), and subordination is kind of random and situational, this is presumably why the grand experiment failed and was abandoned.
That idea that they’re all “Americans” spins a weird kind of humanist yarn in valuing all worth while contrasting for the already created dissonance and conflict amongst the separation of privilege/class within the narrative, as well as the separation of protagonists/antagonists on a viewer-friendly level in our standard relationship with such a narrative wearing the cap of an audience’s role. This final glance shakes the audience awake from those artificial filmic, and ideological real-world, layers to the truth of that ambiguous assignment of righteousness and also undercuts it as irrelevant when we are left with a familial bond between a mother and son.
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:24 pm
by Noiretirc
I enjoyed Get Out, but I abandoned Us at the halfway mark. Reading this thread reinforces my desire to not watch the second half. What a disappointment. I hope Peele finds his way again on #3.
(It's strange that most on-line reviews of Us seem to be mostly stellar. What the hell is going on here?)
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:49 pm
by knives
To be honest I’ve thought about this one a lot since I saw it especially with Zedz’s comments in mind and while I still would call this a mess it is to me a successful mess showing a collage into Peele’s mind that I enjoy sitting with.
Re: Us (Jordan Peele, 2019)
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:29 am
by therewillbeblus
zedz made some great points, and while I still don’t think one’s ability to ‘explain’ certain manipulative tactics is an alibi against their disingenuous function of audience condescension, the culmination of this uneven work forces critical engagement with its bold, reticent ideas. I’d strongly suggest finishing the movie, and I don’t even like it, but too few films are simultaneously this audacious and aloof and once, and it’s worthwhile to see the rare ones through to the end.