![]() (Pay close attention, for instance, to whom the Tethers kill and whom they just maim.) And still other stuff is probably just me reading my own opinions into the movie.Īnyway, the third act begins when the family finally makes it to daylight, having killed two of their doubles, with a third double falling right at the top of Act 3. ![]() Some of this exposition is stated outright, as when Adelaide’s double, Red, explains exactly who she is and who her compatriots are. And all along the way, Peele is seeding in exposition, like when we learn that Adelaide and her family aren’t the only ones being menaced by their doubles (who are called “Tethers” in the film, because they’re tethered to their mirror images), and the film cuts away to the vicious murder of two of their friends ( Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss) by the friends’ doubles. The second act - roughly the middle hour of the 116-minute film - is pretty much perfect, the kind of expertly pitched horror comedy we see far too rarely. The second act follows Adelaide’s and her family’s actions after being menaced by horrifying double versions of themselves - played by the same actors - over the course of one long, gory night. ![]() The first act is all unsettling setup - first with a flashback to our protagonist, Adelaide ( Lupita Nyong’o), as a young girl, meeting an eerie mirror version of herself, then to the first few days of a family vacation that she takes with her husband ( Winston Duke) and kids as an adult. Us breaks evenly into a classic three-act structure. So let’s talk first about what happens in that ending and how we could read that ending, and then try to find a way to synthesize all of these ideas. The audience leaving my screening the other night seemed sharply divided on the film - and its last-minute twist - but I plunged deeper and deeper into it because of that messy, glorious ending. Us is Jordan Peele’s thrilling, blood-curdling allegory about a self-destructing Americaīut I found that approach incredibly engaging.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |