Review: Get Out (2017)

Get Out Movie Poster
My ratingIMDbRotten Tomatoes
CriticsAudienceCriticsAudience
7/1084/1007.7/1099%87%
Numbers obtained from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes on February 10, 2018.

Before I start this review, I should warn that I am not a fan of horror movies in general – never have been and it is unlikely to change. I do, however, like psychological thrillers, and that is why I liked the first two thirds of Get Out. It lost me on the third and final act, even having watched it twice.

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is a photographer who dates Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). He is invited to her parents’ house for the first time and is worried her family might not like the fact that he is African American.

Once they’re there, Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener) and Dean Armitage (Bradley Whitford) seem a liberal couple, hugging Chris and insisting they would have voted for Obama a third time if it was allowed. Chris notices, however, that despite their attitudes, they only employ African Americans in the property. Moreover, the employees act very strange, with weird smiles and way of speaking.

Rose’s mother, a therapist, is appalled to know that Chris smokes and decides to hypnotize him, which is when we get to know “The Sunken Place”, when Chris is not able to move and is probably when Daniel Kaluuya gives his best performance in the movie.

Also during the weekend, the family hosts a gathering and all the guests are immediately drawn to Chris, observing every move he makes. 

Nominated in 4 categories (Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay), Get Out was a huge success during the winter of 2017 and it is one of those rare films that get nominated despite being released so early in the year. Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Get Out shows that the racial divide in the U.S. is much more alive and real and we all would like to think.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Get Out is a perfect movie. As mentioned before, the third act, when we finally understand what is happening in the house, could have been a much more interesting closure rather than that chaotic final sequence. 

The cast is really the best part of the film, with credit also due to LilRel Howery, who plays Chris’ friend and is the comic relief in a movie that otherwise I would never classify as a comedy (like the Golden Globes did).


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