In just three films, Peele has shown a remarkable command of his craft that makes each new film worth seeking out, particularly for their visuals.
Editor's Note: The following contains Nope spoilers. Nope, the outstanding third film from writer-director Jordan Peele, is a vibrant and thrilling work that is in constant conversation with cinematic iconography. When I say “iconography,” I am referring not just to the visuals of the film itself but to the cinematic past it remains profoundly and painfully acquainted with. This plays out in a historical sense as we learn early on that our central characters, siblings Otis Jr. AKA OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer), have family ties that go back decades in moviemaking. Through flashbacks and the occasional conversation, the story lays out how their father Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) was there when some of the most iconic films were being made. The weight of this is felt now in the future where characters wear merchandise likely accumulated from these works. There is even one scene where the former sitcom child star Ricky 'Jupe' Park (Steven Yeun) takes OJ and Emerald back through the various props he kept from his time on television. However, everything is tainted with tragedy as the film’s opening scene reveals that all we are seeing only has value because of catastrophe. Yet the characters, perhaps despite themselves, still observe them with a kind of reverence and fascination that masks something far darker.
This is an apt way to describe what defines Peele as a filmmaker and makes him such a standout in the malaise of modern movie making. Sure, much of this is because he has a wicked sense of humor and a deceptively sharp way of writing characters. However, what makes all this come together is the way he is in complete and utter command of every image he puts on screen. Nothing feels purposeless as everything we get to see almost feels destined to permanently etch itself in your memory. Be it the horrors of the sunken place in his still dynamite debut film Get Out to the snazzy suits and scissors used by characters in the menacing Us, everything he puts to film just leaps off the screen with ease. It is hard to think of many modern directors that have shown such control over every little detail in such a short amount of time. Yet every Peele film feels like there is a visual poetry threaded throughout that still packs a devastating punch. If you were to take any of the memorable shots from his works, you can guarantee it would immediately be recognizable as one that could have only come from him. Be it in horror to science fiction, he has made each subsequent film a standout of anything that has been made in the genre because of his attention to detail.
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This command of every single visual he puts forth is one of the many reasons that Nope may be Peele’s most accomplished and audacious film yet. Much of this is due to the way it both reflects on and rips apart past iconography to create something undeniably its own. In addition to grappling with the history of Hollywood, characters engage with how the popular imagination has typically told similar stories. When it comes to UFOs, a centerpiece of the film, they discuss how they are conventionally portrayed as being grainy, out-of-focus spaceships for oddly shaped extraterrestrials. From a scene in a barn that serves as a misdirect to the embroidery on the back of a character's jacket, it is a film that is mindful of what we all think of when we hear the term UFO. It then uses this to its advantage to wrongfoot us in the most wondrous ways possible. Without going into details, nothing is quite as it seems as the expectations we and the characters have for what we will eventually see are upended. It fittingly becomes about characters just trying to capture one perfect shot that finds a whole bunch of great ones of its own along the way. This allows for Peele to poke fun at himself and the art form in which he works while still making every moment of visual storytelling absolutely sing. There are laughs to be had in how he does this, though it also is filled with a prevailing sense of awe crossed with dread. He is showing us things that may initially seem familiar because of how he plays with genre. However, this ensures that when he twists them into something wholly original the impact is inescapable. It feels like Peele is pulling back the curtain on himself and his own aspirations as a filmmaker. That he does this while filling every single frame with a panoply of evocative imagery is all the more spectacular.
From the striking shot of a lone shoe standing up on its end to a house covered in raining blood while an otherworldly force of nature hovers above, there is just so much stunning imagery to take in that unsettles in its own singular sense. While there are certainly reference points that Peele draws from, with one visual nod to Akira coming at a pivotal moment, these are only the appetizers to the full-course meal on display. Even the more silly scenes often make use of fun visual gags, eliciting laughs along with amazement at how all the pieces come together. This strength of vision is what sets him apart from most anyone working today. Every new film thus far is also different from the other as each has offered up its own memorable moments and shots in vastly different packages. What ties them together is just how adept he is at crafting his own iconography that will endure precisely because of how unique it is. The fact that Nope is a film that is itself built around creating that one iconic moment makes it all the more delicious. It ends up making it feel more oddly personal even as it is a massive spectacle. It is an experience that it feels like no one else could have made in just the precise way Peele did, a testament to just how much of a mark he leaves on the screen. It isn't as scary as his prior works, though it becomes something more sublime.
Of course, there are imperfections here and there. That is often what happens when you swing for the fences. Rather humorously, Peele himself took to Twitter to try to tone down some of the praise he was receiving for this recent work and humble himself before past filmmakers in the genre. This only ends up being further proof of the value of what he brings as a director and visual storyteller. Both he and his most recent work are deeply aware of what cinema has been, making the way he speaks back with his own visual language feel all the more interesting. He has created a film that can genuinely be called a crowd-pleaser without ever losing his sense of style and dynamic imagery. He has an eye for creating his own iconography within existing genres that is without compare. Be it imagery from science fiction or horror or even the western, Peele delicately unravels all of them to weave his own visual tapestry.
While both Get Out and Us are strong films in their own way, to me this is what makes Nope such an invigorating work. It shows that Peele is still pushing himself and his craft into new places, building more complex sequences that still maintain his knack for throwing visual knockout punches. To see an artist explore like this is something to cherish. From the opening moments all the way to its appropriately satisfying final shot, Peele has reached his visual mountaintop once more and there is only hope he can ascend even further from here.
Chase Hutchinson is a Senior Features Writer for Collider. His work has also appeared in a variety of publications including The Stranger, The Portland Mercury, The Inlander, and The Sunbreak. He lives in Tacoma, WA (it is near Seattle, though still very much its own thing) where he works as a writer and journalist. You can find him on Twitter at @EclecticHutch.
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