My first impression of "Nope," was a modern day equivalent to cult B-list horror movies such as Tremors, or Lake Placid. I read a lot of reviews before the movie, and I didn't know what to expect. I left satisfied, but not WOWed. The cinematography was appealing and expertly stylized, the actors were phenomenal, and it was entertaining, but I wasn't 100% sure what all the story lines had to do with one another! One day later I pieced it all together, and my opinion of the film completely changed.
What at first seems like a cinematic mash up of several genres, which for the sake of entertainment, could be considered somewhat successful, is really a highly cohesive commentary on the exploitation of animals for entertainment, and the perils of underestimating the brute power of nature.
The film opens with an off-screen sound bite from a sitcom filming gone wrong. The sitcom opens with a birthday party scene for title character/family member, "Gordy" the chimp. A loud bang ensues (which we later learn is a helium balloon popping), and as a result Gordy attacks the cast. The scene opens to reveal the set of the show, and the bloodied, terrified monkey, who proceeds to resume his attack on the injured cast, pause, and turn to face the camera, breaking the 4th wall. This narrative has received the most negative attention from reviewers, but in fact, sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Breakaway, Nope begins. We are on a horse ranch in California run by the Haywood family, who specialize in horse training/handling for the film industry. Our main character, OJ (no, not that OJ), is quickly witness to his father's death via freak accident, a strange hail storm of metallic objects falling from the sky, and written off as a cargo plane accident. In the subsequent scenes we are introduced to OJ's dynamic sister, Emerald Haywood, played to perfection by Keke Palmer, and expert filmographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott).
We are also introduced to Jupe Park, played by Walking Dead famous Steven Yeun. Jupe runs a small-time theme park neighbouring the Haywood farm, and is revealed to have been a former child star. In fact, the same child who starred on the ill-fated set of the Gordy show, and witnessed the massacre that ended the sitcom's run. Jupe and OJ have a business relationship, wherein OJ sells horses to Jupe for his attractions/shows in order to keep his failing family farm afloat. OJ indicates that he might be in a position to start to buy back some of his horses, and Jupe vaguely deflects the conversation.... this seems small but is important.
After a somewhat laborious set up, we are finally "officially" introduced to the villain of the film... an unidentified flying object (aka. UFO) focused on the seeming abduction of the Haywood farm horses. OJ witnesses this strange occurrence and quickly appraises his sister of the situation. Ever the millennial hustler stereotype, Emerald is quick to subside her horror in favour of profit. The siblings agree to extend all of their finances in order to achieve a lucrative "shot" of the UFO, securing themselves financially. Obviously a trip to Best Buy (though in the flick it's called something else), is in order. This is where we are introduced to techy dream boat/casual alien enthusiast, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea). Angel quickly becomes part of the Haywood gang, hell bent on capturing video footage of this phenomenon for profit.
Breakaway to Jupe's theme park, where we learn that not only is Jupe aware of this extraterrestrial presence, but he is in fact actively baiting this entity with the horses he is buying from the Haywood farm, as a means of creating an attraction for his business. Decked out in full western regalia, adorned with UFOs in rhinestones, Jupe treats his audience of 40 people to a spectacle unseen before... a true alien encounter. Jupe is able to schedule these shows by releasing the horses as "bait," and therefore believes he has "trained" the vessel, prime for capitalization. However, the encounter goes awry, and after the baited horse refuses to leave his paddock, the entire audience and staff are "sucked up" by the alien entity.
This is where the script flips. The members of the audience are not being abducted, they are being eaten. The alien vessel is not a vessel at all, but an extraterrestrial life form.
OJ witnesses the event, and is able to escape and rescue his horse, Lucky, in the process. With his newfound understanding of the entity, OJ is able to use his knowledge and respect of animals to put aside his monetary motivations for capturing the creature on film, and subsequently save his family and farm.
This is where I'm leaving off this review, because it's already full of spoilers, and truly the rest is inconsequential.
NOPE is genius.
What at first glance comes across as randomness and pastiche, is actually a well crafted narrative. The message is subtle and lingering, but consistent once defined. Packaged with tons of personality and style, it's a movie that can be consumed for entertainment value or intellectual provocation, and for that I gave it a 9!
What at first seems like a cinematic mash up of several genres, which for the sake of entertainment, could be considered somewhat successful, is really a highly cohesive commentary on the exploitation of animals for entertainment, and the perils of underestimating the brute power of nature.
The film opens with an off-screen sound bite from a sitcom filming gone wrong. The sitcom opens with a birthday party scene for title character/family member, "Gordy" the chimp. A loud bang ensues (which we later learn is a helium balloon popping), and as a result Gordy attacks the cast. The scene opens to reveal the set of the show, and the bloodied, terrified monkey, who proceeds to resume his attack on the injured cast, pause, and turn to face the camera, breaking the 4th wall. This narrative has received the most negative attention from reviewers, but in fact, sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Breakaway, Nope begins. We are on a horse ranch in California run by the Haywood family, who specialize in horse training/handling for the film industry. Our main character, OJ (no, not that OJ), is quickly witness to his father's death via freak accident, a strange hail storm of metallic objects falling from the sky, and written off as a cargo plane accident. In the subsequent scenes we are introduced to OJ's dynamic sister, Emerald Haywood, played to perfection by Keke Palmer, and expert filmographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott).
We are also introduced to Jupe Park, played by Walking Dead famous Steven Yeun. Jupe runs a small-time theme park neighbouring the Haywood farm, and is revealed to have been a former child star. In fact, the same child who starred on the ill-fated set of the Gordy show, and witnessed the massacre that ended the sitcom's run. Jupe and OJ have a business relationship, wherein OJ sells horses to Jupe for his attractions/shows in order to keep his failing family farm afloat. OJ indicates that he might be in a position to start to buy back some of his horses, and Jupe vaguely deflects the conversation.... this seems small but is important.
After a somewhat laborious set up, we are finally "officially" introduced to the villain of the film... an unidentified flying object (aka. UFO) focused on the seeming abduction of the Haywood farm horses. OJ witnesses this strange occurrence and quickly appraises his sister of the situation. Ever the millennial hustler stereotype, Emerald is quick to subside her horror in favour of profit. The siblings agree to extend all of their finances in order to achieve a lucrative "shot" of the UFO, securing themselves financially. Obviously a trip to Best Buy (though in the flick it's called something else), is in order. This is where we are introduced to techy dream boat/casual alien enthusiast, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea). Angel quickly becomes part of the Haywood gang, hell bent on capturing video footage of this phenomenon for profit.
Breakaway to Jupe's theme park, where we learn that not only is Jupe aware of this extraterrestrial presence, but he is in fact actively baiting this entity with the horses he is buying from the Haywood farm, as a means of creating an attraction for his business. Decked out in full western regalia, adorned with UFOs in rhinestones, Jupe treats his audience of 40 people to a spectacle unseen before... a true alien encounter. Jupe is able to schedule these shows by releasing the horses as "bait," and therefore believes he has "trained" the vessel, prime for capitalization. However, the encounter goes awry, and after the baited horse refuses to leave his paddock, the entire audience and staff are "sucked up" by the alien entity.
This is where the script flips. The members of the audience are not being abducted, they are being eaten. The alien vessel is not a vessel at all, but an extraterrestrial life form.
OJ witnesses the event, and is able to escape and rescue his horse, Lucky, in the process. With his newfound understanding of the entity, OJ is able to use his knowledge and respect of animals to put aside his monetary motivations for capturing the creature on film, and subsequently save his family and farm.
This is where I'm leaving off this review, because it's already full of spoilers, and truly the rest is inconsequential.
NOPE is genius.
What at first glance comes across as randomness and pastiche, is actually a well crafted narrative. The message is subtle and lingering, but consistent once defined. Packaged with tons of personality and style, it's a movie that can be consumed for entertainment value or intellectual provocation, and for that I gave it a 9!