Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya, Sicario), a young African-American man, and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams, “Girls”), a young white woman, have been dating for several months, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate at her family’s upstate home with parents Missy (Catherine Keener, Captain Phillips) and Dean (Bradley Whitford, The Cabin in the Woods). 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.
You can read the review written by The Pop Break’s own Matt Taylor here, but I would like to add a few thoughts of my own.
To start, I really did enjoy the film. Throughout I felt both terrified and uncomfortable, not only by what Chris thought was happening, but by what was actually happening. Outside of the ultimate hypnotism and, basically, body theft, Jordan Peele pointed out something that I don’t think many people notice they do: focus on the elephant in the room. From the moment Chris steps into Rose’s house, he is treated differently just because he is black. Now, maybe we don’t notice that we focus on a simple trait that makes someone different (i.e.: skin color, sexual preference, disability) but we do because we are so determined to make someone feel comfortable that we don’t notice how uncomfortable we are making the situation. Chris goes through this throughout the film and we felt every single awkward second of it. This helps to keep the audience confused as to whether Chris is actually experiencing something horrible happening in the house or if he is just paranoid.
Now, in terms of the films originality…I cannot say it is the most original film, as people have been saying. Maybe Peele’s focus on racism in a horror film is something that is not often shown but maybe people have forgotten the 1975 film The Stepford Wives, which focuses on sexism and, ultimately, the women in town are killed and replaced with robotic versions of themselves that are meant to tend to their husbands every want and need. Get Out is basically the same film with a different message. So, in terms of originality, its really not but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t without worth. It does bring a very important issue to light: we are still a very racist culture.
The Blu-ray home release comes equipped with an alternate ending that seems much more believable considering how we have seen black men portrayed in the media since…well, forever, but the original ending was still the best choice ultimately. It needed to end on that hopeful note. Honestly, the world is scary enough for young black men, so I’m glad Jordan Peele didn’t choose the ending that kept it that way.
Other bonus features include:
- Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Writer/Director Jordan Peele
- Unveiling the Horror of Get Out: Go behind-the-scenes for the making of Get Out
- Q&A Discussion with Writer/Director Jordan Peele and the Cast: Director/Writer Jordan
- Peele sits down with the cast to answer fan questions on the film hosted by Chance the Rapper.
- Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Jordan Peele
Get Out easily deserves it’s perfect (ignore the troll rating) Rotten Tomatoes score. I cannot recommend it enough.
Get Out is now available on blu-ray and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment
