Thu | May 2, 2024

Review: ‘Nope’ – A scary spectacle

Published:Friday | July 29, 2022 | 12:08 AMDamian Levy/Gleaner Writer
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From left: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Brandon Perea in a scene from ‘Nope’.
AP
From left: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Brandon Perea in a scene from ‘Nope’.
Daniel Kaluuya reunites with director Jordan Peele in their second collaboration after ‘Get Out’. Kaluuya plays the role of OJ Haywood.
AP
Daniel Kaluuya reunites with director Jordan Peele in their second collaboration after ‘Get Out’. Kaluuya plays the role of OJ Haywood.
From left: Donna Mills, Brandon Perea, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film ‘Nope’ in London on Thursday.
AP
From left: Donna Mills, Brandon Perea, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film ‘Nope’ in London on Thursday.
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Sometimes you see things you can’t explain. A phenomenon that’s completely alien, and the only thing that feels familiar is how distinctly unfamiliar it is. Personally, in the presence of such a thing, I would opt to hightail it in the opposite direction. For siblings Otis and Emerald Haywood, the characters brought to life by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, their instinct is not to flee, but to film, and capture the shot of a lifetime.

Nope follows the siblings as they try to document their close encounter. To say more than that would be depriving the audience of the movie’s several surprises. The film has left much to the imagination leading up to its release, and it’s all the better for it. The plot is intriguing, and solidifies director Jordan Peele as a veritable master of suspense.

Tension abounds in the film, but there’s also no shortage of spectacle. As the film unravels its secrets, there’s a feeling of dread that gets more pervasive as the film goes on. The character’s underdog status is increasingly pronounced as the odds get stacked against them. Throughout this hopelessness, Nope manages to invoke awe for its imaginative visuals. Like the love child of Hitchcock and Spielberg, Nope is a spectacular scare.

The film compels you from beginning to end but not without a challenging proposition. Throughout the movie characters are determined to control something they don’t understand. To catapult themselves to fame and fortune, or die trying. The likelihood of the latter becomes greater as the film progresses, yet the base desire never dissipates. Nope paints a pathetic portrait, portraying the perils of a love of the spotlight.

If you’ve remained in the dark about Nope I suggest you do so all the way up to the curtains opening. Taking in the film in a dark cinema will heighten the thrills, and the sights are deserving of the biggest screen possible. It’s characters are painfully relatable, with some dark humour that somehow manages to make the film even more tense. Thus far 2022 has been a year of fantastic releases. Nope carries on with that trend.

Rating: Big Screen Watch

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.