Effective horror although the underlying subtext requires too much reaching and doesn't come off as smart as it could have been

Rating: Null/10 (22 September 2019)

A lot of hype leading up to this film, the second film from Jordan Peele, and with a lot of expectation on it. I admit I too was looking forward to it after seeing the very strong trailer for it. Mostly the film met my expectations. It was not as relentless or as frightening as the trailer had suggested it may be, but it did still have its share of tense, horrific, and intense moments. The pace and style of the delivery makes it work well, and it builds pretty nicely in terms of scale. It is very much a genre film, but that in itself is not a measure of anything, because you can have good genre films and bad ones, and this is a good one.
While it is a horror, it also manages to have a good streak of dark humor running through it. The political element I think was less successful; some have been full of praise for how smart and daring it is, while others react negatively to what they perceive as a 'woke' film pushing an agenda. Personally I found interesting ideas in here but they don't hang together, unfold as the film progresses, or really give you something 100% concrete to then think back over. The ideas are not nothing though, and it is still interesting to read thoughts and theories about certain points, because they are 'interesting' but in the context of watching the film I didn't feel they were there in a meaningful way, and afterwards it did feel like I was reaching a bit to find them.
The direction and performances make a big difference in this. All of the leads are good in their own ways, mostly playing it strong in their two different characters. As everyone else has said, Lupita Nyong'o is by far the strongest in not only her two characters, but the range in which she plays the main one. I wonder if the various industry awards can look beyond the genre and see the performance(s) because it is certainly more worthy of awarding than some which are given to performances of 'worthy' characters. Whether she does or doesn't though, if there are other levels in this film, it is her that finds them more than any of the various political allegories in there.
So not as smart or as brilliant as the hype would have you believe, but it is still a well-crafted, interesting, and engaging horror that works mostly as a genre film, but has plenty in the style, direction, and performances to make it a quality one.