A lot more thoughtful than most mainstream horrors

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2019)

What is it like to live as a Black person in America? I don't mean African American, I mean Black from whatever cultural background. A lot of people take for granted the experience of being a minority person in a culture that doesn't think of you as honest or competent as someone else because of your race. Those living in the majority races cognizant of this issue overcompensate their guilt for their involuntary perpetration of the status quo by the ignorant majority. Pretending that the minority culture doesn't exist is a form of oppression as sinister as outright discrimination.
"Get Out" is a movie that understands this American reality and the effect it can have on individuals. The plot can be summarized in one sentence: a white woman brings her black boyfriend home to meet the family. What transpires is a series of tense moments between Chris, the boyfriend, and Rose, the girlfriend's parents and members of the community. Chris immediately notices that there are only a few Black people in this area and none of them act or speak as he expects. There is an excellent contrast between Chris and his friend Rod, a TSA worker, who speak casually and the stiff interactions Chris has with the few Black people at Rose's family estate. It is almost as if Chris is from a different culture and time. Several of the attendees at a party hosted at the house make crude references to Chris's physique and even his artistic ability. The Director, Jordan Peele, even includes an elderly Asian man as one of the gawkers who makes an innocently racist remake to Chris.
Peele enhances the feeling of unease by hsi use of panoramic shots of the family estate and close ups of the Black actor's faces. You can see the emptiness of the area which is usually shown during the day. The film wouldn't be more frightening if it were shot at night; being Black in this space is scary enough. When someone speaks, we often see their eyes twitch as their lips move. It's personalized terror.
The film still had to come out in February and does run out of steam at some point. When you see it, you will know too. The good character interactions are replaced with rather obvious symbolism if you know your history and the usual horror tropes. Some of Peele's influences are readily apparent in these moments. At least Chris gets out alive. Too many Black people in America do not in real life.