Ulterior motives

‘Get Out’ is a deliciously effective satire of race in America

I’m no fan of horror films, but I know a great movie when I see one.

An auspicious and unexpected directorial debut by Jordan Peele, one half of the former sketch comedy team Key & Peele, “Get Out” isn’t just masterfully made; it has the kind of racial commentary that think-piece writers salivate over, and that their high-minded readers love to devour and debate while brunching. The irony: its villains (and targets) aren’t the deplorables of Trump’s America. They’re the white liberal coastal elites that see themselves as progressive allies for social justice.

It’s a thought-provoking (and delicious) bit of satirical schadenfreude that I don’t think anybody could’ve seen coming.

Chris and Rose are a young interracial couple straight out of central casting. He’s a casually cool, handsome African-American photographer with a chic loft in the city, and she’s a classy young professional with a haut monde pedigree. They’re taking a trip to her parents’ country estate where her mom and dad will meet—and see—Chris for the first time. Despite not having told her parents that her boyfriend is black, Rose reassures Chris of her dad’s Obama-loving bona fides. Daniel Kaluuya is a real breakthrough as Chris, mixing charm and intelligence with natural ease before revealing a wide range of emotional depth. As Rose, Allison Williams (the epitome of pretty white privilege on HBO’s “Girls”) is truly inspired meta-casting.

Her parents, come to find out, are as forward-thinking as billed, yet even before Rose’s weird younger brother shows up, Chris starts to glean hints that something’s off, not the least of which is the all-black servant staff with perpetual smiles, mannered politeness, and Stepford glaze in their eyes. As the parents, Bradley Whitford adds a chill to his smug-but-likable charisma and Catherine Keener shifts from classy to calculating with subtle ease.

It’s hard to imagine how this thriller could be more perfectly calibrated. Peele takes the iconic “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” premise and puts a jolt of Hitchcock into it, but rather than mirroring the master of suspense in specific aesthetics (as many do) Peele applies the same broader principles—namely, a slow-but-steady build of tension and unease in a character-based narrative that fuels the concept, with stark touches and occasional surprises that keep us off-balance and unsettled (particularly early on as Peele juxtaposes happy moments against an impending sense of dread).

What unfolds is a metaphor of black people trying to fit into a white world and a social order that feigns enlightenment for ulterior (not altruistic) motives. It’s about how assimilation to white-defined society squelches the African-American soul, its edge, suppressing that identity into a zombie state. Chris’s best friend Rod, played with hilarious gusto by Lil Rel Howery, embodies black integrity. He serves as both comic relief and a voice of prophetic warning, founded in the cliché of how a brother should always be leery of a white girl’s seductions.

While appropriately labeled as horror, “Get Out” is far from a gory affair. Blood and violence are intermittent until the final stretch, and even then it’s not visually gratuitous. The terror is psychological, both in overt mind games and thematic implications.

As if the entire film wasn’t genius enough, the climax—which you think is going one way to make a statement (and it does) before going another—is Peele’s coup de grâce. It’s not a twist but a masterstroke, as “Get Out” becomes a horrific parable of the ultimate racial sadism: cultural appropriation. 

Full Circle

A brief rundown of what’s happening at the Circle Cinema

OPENING MAR. 3

Julieta
The latest film from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar combines his two greatest strengths: a female-centric tale told with mystery and suspense. After a chance meeting, Julieta learns that her long-lost daughter is somewhere in Madrid. This triggers a painful reflection on her past, told in flashback.
Rated R.

OPENING MAR. 10

A United Kingdom
Based on the true story of a Botswana prince in the late 1940s who marries a white woman from London. Starring David Oyelowo (“Selma”) and Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”).
Rated PG-13.

SPECIAL EVENTS

David Baldacci Live
Popular bestselling author David Baldacci pays a visit to Circle Cinema in this free event, hosted by Booksmart Tulsa and Magic City Books. Baldacci will discuss and read passages from his book “The Width of the World.”
(Mon. Mar. 6, 7 p.m.)

Newtown
This free documentary presentation shows how the community of Newtown, Connecticut came together in the aftermath of the largest mass shooting of school children in U.S. history. This event is produced in partnership with “Moms Demand Action – OK.” There will be a special surprise guest at the conclusion of the screening.
(Tues. Mar. 7, 6 p.m.)

Legends of Ska
This documentary takes us on a tropical journey from the origins of Jamaican music to the end of the island’s innocence, and how there is no Reggae without Ska. Q&A with director/DJ Brad Klein follows the screening.
(Tues. Mar. 7, 7:30 p.m.)

Revolution: New Art for a New World
A new documentary from Margy Kinmonth explores Russian art at the time of the Communist revolution, encapsulating a bold 15-year period of Russian Avant-Garde.
(Wed. Mar. 8th, 7 p.m.)

Hedda Gabler: NT Live
A riveting modern production of Henrik Ibsen’s classic masterpiece, by Tony-winning director Ivo van Hove. This presentation of London’s National Theatre Live stars Ruth Wilson in the title role, with adaptation by Patrick Marber.
(Thurs. Mar. 9, 6:00 p.m.)

Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale
This presentation of the Circle Anime Club tells an action packed story of the near-future. In the year 2022, thousands of people are trapped in a game of augmented reality. Kirito, the lone wolf player, leads the escape.
(Thurs. Mar. 9, Wed. Mar. 10, Thurs. Mar. 11, 10 p.m.)

2nd Saturday Silents – Just Tony (1922)
This free event, sponsored by Hughes Lumber Company, is for a silent Western starring Oklahoman Tom Mix. Program includes a Felix the Cat cartoon, and Bill Rowland accompanies on the Circle’s original 1929 pipe organ.
(Sat. Mar. 11, 11 a.m.)

For more from Jeff, read his review of the Oscar-nominated documentary ‘I am Not Your Negro.’