Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is visiting his girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) parents for the first time, having been seeing Rose for about five months. And he is absolutely terrified. What if they don’t like him? Has Rose even told them he is black?
Rose reassures him that her parents will be fine with him, after all, her dad always says he would have voted for Obama for a third term if he could have.
Chris reluctantly agrees, and goes with her up to their country home upstate. He is introduced to Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener), and later Rose’s brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones). They seem like a nice enough white family; then again, they have two black servants: groundskeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson) and housekeeper Georgina (Betty Gabriel).
Not only that, but everyone seems to be acting awfully strange around Chris, especially when a bunch of Dean and Missy’s friends stop by the next day for a big party, and are behaving very oddly indeed.
I really can’t say more than this, for fear of spoiling the rest of the film for you. It is well worth watching, and actually, I would suggest watching it multiple times if you can; you notice a lot more on subsequent viewings.
The most incredible thing about this film is the clever screenplay, written by director Jordan Peele. There are a handful of comedic moments, which fans of his previous work will no doubt recognise and appreciate. But the key to this script is the horror that lies just below the surface for the majority of the film. It is a very clear representation of what Peele has experienced in his own past, growing up in the United States as an African American. The strongest themes of the film are those that address and deal with race and race issues, including race relations throughout society, particularly white middle-class American society.
In fact, the script is so tightly written, and well constructed, it is hard to believe that this is Peele’s first foray into screenwriting. I imagine it must have taken him a lot of time and hard work to fill his script, and consequently his film, with so many little nuanced parts. Peele is an incredibly gifted writer, that much is clear, both from his past work as a comedian and here in this film, but this screenplay is far and above his best work to date. I for one can’t wait to see what he does next.
The cast performances are all perfectly on point, but especially the performances of Kaluuya and Williams as the young couple. Both of them bring their absolute all to their roles, and their dedication and hard work really pay off on screen.
There is also a great cameo performance by Stephen Root as a party guest, blind art curator Jim Hudson.
And if you saw the end of this film coming, I suggest you seek psychiatric help. Immediately.
That being said, I think this is one of the greatest films of its time. It is so well written, so well shot, so well directed, so well acted, so well scored, there can only be one appropriate rating.
10 out of 10.
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