Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022) is a film that melds together a lot of interesting ideas about race, entertainment, and science fiction told in the lens of a thriller Western, the cinematic equivalent to fusion cuisine…yet I didn’t really enjoy it, and I’m trying to grapple with why that is. Some context: this is the second time I watched the film, as I first viewed it when it came out two years ago, hot off the heels of binging Peele’s other forays into horror, Get Out (2017) and Us (2019), movies which I absolutely adore and changed from my perspective what a horror movie could truly be. On a first viewing, I think I was disappointed because Nope has a very different atmosphere than Get Out and Us. Coming into the film, I was expecting more of the same scary tropes mixed with social commentary that Peele was so lauded for, an expectation not really grounded in reality, as I would argue Nope is not scary in the same way. Nope’s horror is found in the depressing exploitative nature of humanity and the way filmmaking exacerbates that, a timely theme, but not a physical horror in the same way as Us’s literal face-to-face confrontation with what it means to be human, for example. Additionally, I didn’t really understand these themes on a first watch as my brain was wired for Nope’s plot to be a lot more explicit than it is. When I first looked at this class syllabus and saw we were watching this film, I was actually really excited, as it would provide me with an opportunity to give the film another chance.
But on a second viewing, I still can’t shake the feeling that Peele isn’t giving us enough to go off of. The characters of OJ and Em feel remarkably underdeveloped and completely unrelatable to me. I don’t think this is the fault of the actors, as I’ve seen Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer in many other films and enjoyed their performances that often feel grounded and realistic. The script, though, provides no vantage point for me to connect to them as people of their own, save their introductory scene on the movie set where they are fired for the horse going crazy. Although this is a compelling start to their story, I wish we could have seen the emotional fallout from this. Their dad just died from, what, a nickel falling out of the sky?, they get fired from a movie set because the crew have no idea how training animals operate, and their business is failing. That fucking sucks, but why do we never see them recognize that? At various points of the film I literally forgot the two were siblings because they barely operate within that relationship dynamic. We are supposed to feel that Em wants out of this horse business, but we never get a glimpse into the life she wants to be hers. It’s this deliberate withholding of backstory that I can’t really reconcile with, as it gives me no reason to care about either of their fates. Perhaps I’m viewing this too much from a character standpoint, yes, as I recognize that the film delves more time into tense action sequences and the clearly defined goal of getting Jupiter’s Claim (the UFO) on camera. But for a 130 minute film, I feel a little gypped.
Funnily enough, the subplot revolving around Jupe’s traumatic experience filming Gordy’s Home and then reclaiming and exploiting this as a business venture was a lot more interesting to me. It’s sad because it’s true; we see this in everyday life, hundreds of documentaries and biopics made about horrific traumas and perversions turned into a casual Friday night watch. Jupe’s character arc feels a lot more coherent to the themes Peele wants to communicate than OJ and Em’s do. Another thing I appreciated on a second watch was the cinematography, particularly during the climactic alien attack where POV shots are used extensively to highlight the alien’s aversion to being watched. Nope certainly isn’t a bad film, but I wonder if it needed one more rewrite to get the alignment of plot, character, and theme in the perfect sweet spot in the same way that Peele’s other films accomplish magnificently.
For as much as I disagree with you on multiple points, I do agree that Nope just does not have that “sweet spot” you speak of. While you give your opinions on aspects of the film that result in a loss of Peele’s trademark perfection, I myself am not too sure what the film is missing–I just know that it is missing something. However, I am inclined to disagree that the points you bring up are the reason for the film’s imperfection. While Nope is arguably a visual departure from the way Peele incorporates horror in Get Out and Us, I do not believe that it necessarily loses the physicality that Peele’s first two movies had. Honestly, I felt like the most harrowing parts of the film were deeply physical (the death of Otis Senior, Gordy’s killing spree and subsequent death, and the suffocation of Jupe and others’ bodies in the Jean Jacket). Adding that these sequences are nearly all a result of the creation of spectacle, and now you have the the social commentary aspect that Peele is known for. As for your focus on characters–your emphasis on character standpoint is justified! Em and OJ are crucial to understanding the overarching themes, but I feel that perhaps you place too much emphasis on the on the plot duration as it relates to their behavior rather than the story duration. The reason we don’t really see much acknowledgment of their father’s death from them is because there was a time-skip of six months after his death, allowing them an off-screen grieving period. And while you could argue that most people would be more visibly distraught than OJ and Em, the flashbacks that are given to us show that they were raised by what seems to be a stern, stoic father that raised his family and ran his business in accordance to patriarchal expectations. This type of environment would likely produce stoic children, which is a trait that both Em and OJ possess despite their other personality differences. In my opinion, it’s not surprising that their relationship loses that “sibling” dynamic because they’ve probably been living separate personal lives as they struggle to meet their father’s expectations for each of them. You can also consider the dynamic between an older sibling and a younger sibling, which can oftentimes contribute to that slight awkwardness and seemingly disconnect that many feel reflects a weakened familial bond. As far as your point about the withholding of Em’s desires, I feel as thought Peele chose to keep it concealed because there’s nothing there–maybe she does not know what she wants. The themes of legacy and the maintaining of it are evident through OJ and Jupe’s attempt at continuing legacies that matter to them respectively. But Em is different in that she does not feel the need to uphold a legacy, she thinks in the short-term, of the money she will receive from getting proof of Jean Jacket’s existence. I acknowledge that this is a bit of a stretch and that nobody can ever 100% declare intent in art without confirmation from the artist, but I think that Peele made Em’s character to be vague and near-sighted to reflect how her intentions are similar to the others that have tried to monetize spectacle throughout the film. Overall, I really enjoyed your thought-provoking post, as well as your appreciation for Us (it’s his best haha). Thank you Tai!
I thought it was very interesting that you were seemingly disappointed that this movie does not contain some of the horror aspects that Peele’s other films do because for me it was the opposite. As someone who does not like horror films and the anxiety they produce at all I felt like this was a film I could enjoy and still get that on the edge feeling from without it being too much. Though I do understand how you may feel differently if you like horror films and I think this speaks to a lot of what we read in the textbook and talked about in class about genres being something audiences can know they like and have certain expectations around. I do also agree with you that I didn’t feel much of a connection to these characters. I think their actions and personalities made sense to me and were sometimes comical, and I would disagree with you and say they do have a very sibling like dynamic, but we don’t have a lot of emotional access to them which does make it hard to invest in their fate. I actually felt most invested in the young Jupe when he is hiding under the table though that may also be because that is a moment that really plays into horror tropes like you were saying. Overall I think you make a lot of good points and I understand why you may not have enjoyed the film even though I did.
I didn’t fully understand why I didn’t enjoy nor feel super affected by Nope!. With it being labeled as a horror-western, I expected to be scared at points, but I found myself not really caring about what happened, and now that Tai has pointed out the lack of development and relatability of the characters, I think that is probably why. Jaime brought up an interesting perspective on why we didn’t see them grieving, and I disagree. Six months is nowhere near enough time for all of the grieving that needs to be done- while people move at their own pace, the first year is generally considered the most difficult, especially because it brings so many new things, like holidays and birthdays and exposure to things that remind you of the person. Moreover, a high stress situation (like realizing and killing your dad and doesn’t intend to stop killing) would most likely trigger a reaction in someone that is only six months out of a traumatic event (and doesn’t go to therapy). Not being able to see any of the grief and emotion bubbling up made me feel like the characters were distant, and if there is no emotional connection to the characters, why would I care about what happens to them?
I found myself worrying more about Jupe and his subplot, and I think that’s because I feel like we got a lot more information about Jupe in the time he was given on screen, and he seemed more open as a character (which may relate back to his background in performance). Similar to Tai, I also think Jupe and Gordy’s subplot seemed to more directly broadcasted the theme.
I also agree with Tai that maybe the jump scares weren’t meant to be the scary part. I think the scariest part of this movie is the way that it pertains to real life and all the ways humanity exploits anything it can-from expecting everything to perform (Jean Jacket, horses, Gordy, even Jupe), to animal mistreatment (I’m assuming Gordy’s needs weren’t met, and that’s why he snapped), to murders and crimes being used for entertainment (TMZ guy investigating the death of all of the people).