🎬 US( 2019) – Examination of Duality and Identities of ones self
Jordan Peele directed the psychological horror Us (2019), a film that digs deep into the very complex dualities within an individual and the dark reflection lurking inside. The plot revolves around the family of Adelaide Wilson who one day gets attacked by uncanny doubles of themselves that leads to a dramatic life and death struggle. In the end, it is not merely a case of an unusual home invasion, but rather an intricate tale of self-discovery, inner psychological scars alongside social separations.
✨ A CLOSER LOOK CAST & CHARACTERS
Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson / Red: The daughter is a psychologically traumatized mother and her eerie counterpart Red makes so much of her mental distress real.
Winston Duke as Gabe Wilson / Abraham: Gabe is a carefree father with a great sense of humor, whereas his doppelganger Abraham is a brutish and menacing figure with threatening silence.
Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora Wilson / Umbrae: Zora is a sporty teenager with a great sense of business whose counterpart Umbrae too was violent but communicated in silence which was deeply unsettling.
Evan Alex as Jason Wilson / Pluto: Clever and curious describe Jason best. But his doppelganger, whowears a mask, is dubbed Pluto and is violent, ruthless and animalistic in his erractic movements.
Elisabeth Moss portrays Kitty Tyler / Dahlia: Kitty is an affluent socialite devoid of scruples and a friend to her own doppelgänger, Dahlia, who is a more disturbing manifestation of wealth.
Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler/ Tex: Kitty’s husband, Josh, the unrestrained member of the privileged class, and Tex, the more icy and bestial version of him.
📝 THE STORY – A Descent into the Uncanny
For leisure, the Wilson family heads to their beach house in Santa Cruz. However, Adelaide has a feeling something is off because of a traumatic experience in her early childhood. One night, the uneasiness comes to fruition when a quartet of intruders who look exactly like her family appear in their driveway. They are called the Tethered and seek to replace the Wilsons. This leads to a grim fight for survival.
The unnerving events keep getting more intense and at the same time, the family learns that the Tethered are indeed part of a larger rebellion. The astonishing climax revolves around Adelaide’s true identity, which ultimately reconstructs the scenario and turns the audience’s morals upside down.
🎭 THEMES – Beneath The Surface
Duality of the Self: Every character comes face to face with their counter self, blindsiding them with reality and unsettling parts of themselves.
Socioeconomic Inequality: The Tethered: Are a representation of the people who society has overlooked and are made to endure in silence while the rest of the world continues to flourish.
Nature vs. Nurture: The film investigates whether a person’s identity comes from the surroundings they reside in rather than something preexisting.
The American Identity: Through horror, Peele critiques the illusion of freedom and equality in contemporary America.
🎬 PRODUCTION DETAILS
- Director: Jordan Peele
- Writer: Jordan Peele
- Producers: Jason Blum, Ian Cooper, Sean McKittrick, and Jordan Peele
- Cinematography: Mike Gioulakis
- Editing: Nicholas Monsour
- Music: Michael Abels
- Production Companies: Monkeypaw Productions, Universal Pictures, and Perfect World Pictures
- Runtime: 116 minutes
- Language: English
- Release Date: March 22, March 2019
- Genre: Thriller, Horror
🌍 RECEPTION – A Critical and Commercial Success
Had an incredible success in the box office earning 256millionworldwideandhavingabudgetof256millionworldwideandhavingabudgetof20 million. Jordan Peele was praised for his “risky” filmmaking and Lupita Nyong’o for performing a dual role in such a commanding manner. With the film’s unnerving tone and layered narrative, it further solidified Peele’s innovation in the genre and social commentary horror.
Tonight the police will be watching everything. When is the last time a prowler alarm was set off across the river over there?
Us has garnered mixed reviews, with the Rotten Tomatoes score resting at 81% and the IMDb rating being slightly more modest at 6.8. If you haven’t watched the film yet, I highly suggest doing so as the storyline is very complex and easy to spoil. Because of this, we will avoid diving headfirst into the movie and save the best for last. In my opinion, every detail of the movie is fascinating; the attention to detail in the Alien Universe in particular stands out, as does Ponda Baba’s inclusion and glimpse out of the Mos Eisley spaceport cantina.