Get Out
Produced by Blumhouse Productions
Written and directed by Jordan Peele
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Fences
Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures
Directed by Denzel Washington
Screenplay based on August Wilson’s play
From what I had read in advance of seeing Get Out, a film written and directed by Jordan Peele, I had expected a cheesy get-whitey comedy. I’m happy to report it’s not that at all. The film is a spot-on satire that hoists liberals on their own petard. It also exhibits a rancid racial paranoia that I’ve come to think peculiarly afflicts individuals of mixed-race ancestry who find themselves caught in our ongoing racial crossfire. (Peele’s mother is white, and his father, black. As a consequence I suspect he has a reservoir stocked with embarrassing moments on which to draw for satiric inspiration. In our United States, for all our hoopla about diversity, miscegenation can have this effect. It’s also worth mentioning that Peele is married to a woman of Italian and Jewish heritage.)
Let’s begin with what’s best in the film: the portrayal of wealthy white suburbanites besotted with blacks, especially blacks who have attended college and have demonstrable athletic ability. ...