“No” 2022: how did the new Jordan Peele movie turn out

Earlier this week, Jordan Peele’s long-awaited film, No, finally premiered. We explain how the new project of the most famous horror director of our time turned out.

Plot of “No”

“No” is a new picture from one of the main modern masters of social horror, director Jordan Peele. Peel’s work belongs to the so-called “New Horror” art movement. Its representatives are trying to revive the social significance of horror films by raising important contemporary issues and revealing them within the conventions of the genre. For his previous films, “Get Out” and “Us,” Peel has received numerous Oscar nominations and awards from leading international film festivals.

Brother and sister, Ojay and Emerald lost their father in a ridiculous tragic accident. A few months after the funeral, they take over the family business, a ranch with horses for filming movies, videos and commercials. Things on the farm have been going badly for many years, it is mired in debt and brings only losses, and if nothing is done, this business will soon ruin its new owners. The only way to somehow improve the situation – to sell all the animals at a very low price.

Ojay is already beginning to think about getting rid of the entire ranch when he suddenly notices a mysterious flying something in the vicinity. After observing him, the guys decide that this is a UFO. They understand that their mysterious “guests” can attract crowds of tourists to this land, they find themselves absorbed in thoughts of the opportunity to get rich and decide to film the object and its pilots at any cost.

The plot of the plot may seem rather unusual for a horror, because it resembles something more comedic than scary. But according to Peel, this was precisely his main idea when creating “No”: “In the past, I always tried to take a fairly serious premise. But this time I wanted to try to make an absurd, funny on paper tie, a terrible, real story. After all, that’s how you can help someone start to see things differently, right? Feel the humor and then feel the fear, and then you will understand things for what they really are.

actors

A few years ago, Jordan Peele was able to establish himself as a first-class artist, not only in the US, but throughout the world – mainly due to the success of Get Out. Now the most profitable studio contracts are available to him, and stars of the first magnitude dream of starring in his films, which the author successfully uses. At the same time, he does not forget about those who helped him long before world fame.

For this reason, the role of one of the two central characters, Ojay, went to the director’s longtime collaborator, British actor Daniel Kaluuy. Most of the audience probably knows Kaluuy from the same “Get Out”, but since then the actor has managed to become even more famous thanks to filming in the popular Marvel film “Black Panther” and the melodrama “Queen and Slim”. About how his friend Jordan has changed over time, Daniel says: “He became more confident in himself. And he just trusts his gut more. With “No”, he just believed in the idea, and we all believed with him. It’s a completely different experience because our past work has been discreet. And the new story is moving very expansively.”

Sister Ojaya Emerald was embodied on the screen by Keke Palemer, a singer and a nominee for the prestigious US Screen Actors Guild Award. Many may remember her from films such as The Trial of Akeelah, in which she played the main character at the age of 13, and the horror series Scream Queens, because of which she initially crouched down to the director No. About his new on-screen image, Keke says: “I really like it when a character redefines what people think of him initially. Therefore, the role of Emerald seemed tempting to me: on the one hand, she is a very strong woman, and only in this vein she is revealed at the beginning, but over time we understand that a tender soul lives inside her.

Also in the film are Stephen Young, the star of the recent hit Minari, Brandon Perea, who many may know from American Resistance, and the legendary Keith David, who starred in classics The Thing and Strangers Among Us.

What audiences and critics say about the film

The specialized press, of course, appreciated Peel’s new work. The reviewers acknowledged that perhaps the director did not create his most outstanding work, but definitely the most enjoyable to date. Critics liked the way this movie explores the boundaries of the science fiction and horror genres at the same time, how it is not afraid to look beyond the typical clichés of stories about aliens, sometimes switching to some absolutely metaphysical style of storytelling and subtle humor, which also found a place in this cocktail. The average score of approval from film critics was 7.5 out of 10.

The audience also liked the film, although it did not cause any strong enthusiasm. Most viewers noted that the movie leaves a pleasant impression, but it seems to be missing something in order to become truly great. The audience rating is currently 7.1 out of 10.