Jordan Peel is probably one of the best-known relative newcomer directors in the US that emerged in recent years. If other similar filmmakers who got into Star Wars and similar mega-franchises are excluded, then Peel is likely without any competition. Yet, for me both Get Out and Us strangely missed the mark of greatness, whatever that mark might be. Most of the necessary stuff was there, but ultimately, they ended up being something that is utterly forgettable. That fact stood despite having so many great ideas and effective executions, except when it comes to the same artwork as a whole.
Nope is a completely different beast, which is something I’m more than happy to report. While I was always rooting for Peel only to feel let down, the latest film broke that streak in a fantastic manner. Like the previous two times, the film begins with a somewhat odd setup of an African-American family running a multi-generation horse ranch for the film industry. There, challenges are constant for a brother and sistem team, but one day, an extremely fast-falling coin coming from the sky and a case of the wrong place at the wrong time collide, leading to a deadly outcome.
Suddenly without their father, they have to pick up the pieces of a failing business. At the same time, the official verdict for the death is an object that accidently fell from an airplane. But, the brother, OJ doesn’t buy it and instead believes that an UFO located above their ranch might be responsible. From this premise a very interesting film arises completely spontaneously. Like other films from Peel, this too is a mixture of social commentary, drama, thriller, science-fiction and fully fleshed out horror. Here, these elements are supplemented by a healthy dose of neo-western and all of it works.
The cast does a great job, especially the toned-down OJ played by Daniel Kaluuya, as they all together progress through a very unlikely but also very scary story. Parallel to that, the nature of celebrity news is also examined and what can and could do those that are in the spotlight, especially if they lack the biological setup to process it on a human level. Also, unlike both older films from the same director, the ending on offer here is complete and resonates strongly with all of the numerous themes in the film. Nope shows, through this weird but functional mixture, that Jordan Peel’s artistic mind is maturing and forming into one of the definite cinematographic voices in the global film industry.
