CONTENT WARNING: This article CONTAINS SPOILERS!
I have been eagerly anticipating this film since the first time I saw the trailer a few months ago, and rest assured, Jordan Peele did not disappoint. If you have yet to watch it, BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD!
When young Adelaide Wilson wanders off and gets separated from her family, she encounters a doppelganger of hers in the hall of mirrors of a funhouse and is haunted by this event for years to come. Flash forward several years into the future, she returns back to Santa Cruz, California, this time on a family vacation, and she and her family are confronted by evil doppelganger versions of themselves known as the Tethered.
There is a lot in this chilling film that is subject to interpretation and the internet is buzzing with theories, but one common thread is that Jordan Peele blew all of our minds with this project of his. Inspired by his own personal fear of doppelgangers, Peele highlights the duality of man through his creation of the Tethered humans. The Tethered are a part of a government cloning experiment gone awry and as a result, they live underground in the shadows of their well off counterparts above ground. How I see it, the Tethered represent the duality within ourselves. They represent the darker side of our personalities, the side we choose to hide away from society. They represent how we are our own worst enemies.
However, it wouldn’t be a Jordan Peele movie without some social commentary undertones and this is where on a broader scale, the Tethered also represent class structure and struggle in America. The people at the bottom are rising up and rebelling against those at the top, a quintessential American fright. This gives a double meaning to the title of this film. Us can also be understood as ‘U.S.’ as in the United States of America. It’s an in-group versus outgroup battle…a mirror image of the current state of American society. The Tethered serves as this film’s primary metaphor, but the common theme of duality is dispersed sporadically throughout, one example being the Michael Jackson allusions like the “Thriller” shirt in the opening and the single hand glove.
The final shocker comes at the end of this movie when it is revealed in the climactic fight scene between Adelaide and Red that above ground Adelaide and below ground Red had switched places as young girls in the recurring funhouse flashback and it had been Red in place of Adelaide this entire time. This scene left me shaken to the core. It definitely threw me for a loop yet it simultaneously tied all the loose ends together.
Overall, this movie was quite different from what I expected from Peele after watching Get Out, but nonetheless, I loved it equally. Lupita Nyong’o, the epitome of a fierce woman of color actress absolutely kills her role in this film as do the rest of the cast members. Not only is this movie socially relevant and terrifying, but frankly it’s hilarious too. The balance between humorous dialogue and deeper metaphorical meanings makes this film worth the watch. I encourage you to take the time next weekend to go see Us!
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