As an excellent follow-up to Get Out, Us nail both the technical side and the intricate plot and symbolism

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2019)

Us lives up to the considerable hype Peele created for himself after Get Out. There is nothing to complain about technically - the score, script, and cinematography is all great, and the acting (especially Nyong'o) is phenomenal. While I was worried about the horror elements being too scary or overwhelming the plot and ideas, I found Peele to integrate fear without forcing it. My only real disappointment with Us is the detachment I felt for much of it. I was certainly rooting for the family and was nervous when they were attached, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I felt a connection to them. I also think Peele spent a bit too much time on pure action, with chase scenes that I didn't feel added a lot to the movie and felt like somewhat empty minutes. Still, I thought it was extremely well made and enjoyable to watch.
What elevates it to a great movie for me, even better than Get Out for my money, is the exceptional symbolism and depth of ideas that Peele brings to the table. I absolutely believe that Us' primary message is one of social class divide in America. There are many moments that allude to it, but the most poignant one and the one I will remember about the movie is the one revealed by the brilliant twist: Red was the old Adelaide, they flipped places. This drives the point home that people are all just victims or beneficiaries of circumstance: Adelaide started down below but could be an ordinary person in society and someone we rooted for all movie, while someone who started out as a good girl could go down to the tunnels and become a killer. The twist, like all of the best movie twists, explains so much of the movie: why Red is the only one who can talk, or why she was the one who was able to lead the revolution. There are plenty of hints at it - Adelaide saying she doesn't do well with talking, her parents saying she wants her girl to talk and that she wants her daughter back. Generally, I think the twins symbolize the low classes of society (shown in their physical place below the Earth in the tunnels, and wearing red as a working class color) who are forgotten or ignored, and who the high class see as the enemy even though they are just people - "we're Americans." I think that central message is extremely strong and meaningful. From a plot perspective, I love the ideas Peele brings, of having a tethered person. I think the complaints of plot holes are completely ridiculous and beside the point - not only are most easily explained, they don't affect any of the message or plot of the movie. I think it's totally plausible that the government tries to clone people and control/influence people with their below ground clones, but they can't clone the soul so the project fails and these tethered people exist in tunnels, eating rabbits as they are an easy and cost effective food source. Red had been a human and knew what she was missing, so leads this revolution of the oppressed and forgotten tethered people to use scissors to untether themselves and take control of the world they were denied. My only real question was: what was unique about Red going into the house of mirrors that made her tether come up the escalator? If mirroring led her there, why wouldn't that happen to everyone? Still, that's a pretty minor point and there are so many brilliant ideas and details in the movie. I do think there's some subtle racial commentary at points (most obvious when the police are of no assistance), and Jason's twin had a burned face because he burned it mirroring Jason's tricks. The plot and exposition at the end, which then give way to so many deep and fascinating ideas to consider, make it a truly great movie for me, even if some of the moments in the middle of the film felt like pure action and my emotional investment was moderate. Peele lands another huge hit that cements him in my mind as one of the great modern thriller writers and directors, and Us is a movie that I would recommend everyone to watch for its across-the-board brilliance. If it doesn't get Best Picture, Actress, and Screenplay nominations I will be disappointed.