'Us' A Review

Us is a scifi/horror/thriller about a family vacationing at the beach confronted by their malevolent doppelgangers. The film opens in 1986 on child Adelaide watching a Hands Across America commercial, we then cut to her at a carnival with her parents where she wanders into a mirror maze and is confronted with her doppelganger. 30 years later Adelaide(Lupita Nyong'o) drives with her husband Gabe(Winston Duke), daughter Zora(Shahadi Wright Joseph), and son Jason(Evan Alex) to the family beach house. That night a shadowed family of four appears on their doorstep and begins to terrorize them and they look exactly the same.

All four of the core ensemble give incredible, dimensional, alternatively chilling and compassionate performances with a streak of, much needed, humor. All four also play their shadow-selves all with success but varying degrees of horrifying emotion. Nyong'o especially, as the defacto lead, gives a titanic portrayal- physical, vocal, and emotional- she really puts on a clinic in how dynamic an actor can be when they utilize all their tools. Duke, although serious and appropriately assertive provides much needed levity and both Joseph and Alex give stunning turns given their age. The family has amazing chemistry and their given free reign to the bizarre as the jumpsuited duplicates in a way that
really shows off how fluid and flawless the core four are. The limited supporting cast is sufficient although Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss as the Wilson's bougy friends doesn't particularly land.

The production elements of the film are all flawless most notably the eerie, hypnotic, droning score but each element is near perfect- the set design, the costumes, the cinematography- all work in conjunction in harmony to elevate the already excellent cast. The story is somewhat tricky and quickly spools out leaning more towards the nebulous rather than the narrative. It is apparent that the story is an allegory but it is not particularly clear what that allegory is. This lack of clarity is can be frustrating but is also the thing which keeps the film on the mind after its enigmatic ending.

Not necessarily as streamlined and satisfying as writer/director Jordan Peele's debut Get Out but challenging, conceptual, and engaging.

See It.