'All I know is sometimes, when there's too many white people, I get nervous, you know?'

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2018)

Multi-talented Jordan Peele both write and directed this controversial thriller that is likely to win awards in many categories. Not only has he selected a superb cast, but he also is willing to take the racial conflict where few have dared go - a story where the concept of being Black in a white atmosphere changes from being an advantage, a showcase for Black culture, to a nightmare of racism carried to the extreme.
The film opens strangely with an incident on the street of an apparent kidnapping of a black young man (LaKeith Stanfield). Jump some time later when Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young Black photographer, visits Rose (Allison Williams), his white girlfriend's family estate, he becomes ensnared in the more sinister, real reason for the invitation. The parents (psychiatrist Missy - Catherine Keener and neurosurgeon Dean - Bradley Whitford) are strange but apparently conspicuously non-racist. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined. The manner in which the Black 'help' - Walter (Marcus Henderson) and Georgina (Betty Gabriel) - interact with Chris is bizarre, as is the presence of some of the guests at a party held in the estate at night. Where it leads must be seen - otherwise the mood and story are spoiled.
Unique story, well written and directed and photographed and acted, this is a fine film that makes many necessary observations.