Us (2019)

[ursula]

I don't think Jason is switched - it's his half-Tetherness "manifesting" so to speak, more than his sister. 

[Dejana]

27 minutes ago, ursula said:

I don't think Jason is switched - it's his half-Tetherness "manifesting" so to speak, more than his sister. 

I agree, and feel like Jason being secretly switched (without the movie ever saying so!) is a less logical or interesting development than one child being more like their mother than the other. Even if Peele ever comes out and says this is the case that Jason was switched, he didn't put that in the movie, so I'd feel free to ignore it.

The actresses playing the Shining-esque twins were once Ross and Rachel's daughter Emma on Friends:

https://www.today.com/popculture/twins-who-played-emma-friends-star-new-horror-movie-us-t150945

Edited March 27, 2019 by Dejana

[Apprentice79]

1 hour ago, ursula said:

I don't think Jason is switched - it's his half-Tetherness "manifesting" so to speak, more than his sister. 

It is like any child, some favor their mother, some favor their father in temperament and some kids don't favor either parent.  It is the same for Adelaide regarding her kids. Jason is the most like her so she gravitates towards him, it does not mean she loves Zora any less.

Edited March 27, 2019 by Apprentice79

[vibeology]

If it came out that Jason had been switched, I'd have a big problem with the story. From what we're told Adelaide needed professional help to learn to speak. How could Jason be talking so well and so naturally if he'd been recently switched? I think it just comes down to Jason being more like his mom and them being close because he's the baby of the family. I think Jason just understands his mom's deal based on the things he saw.

I saw the movie yesterday and I am obsessed. I have some problems with the logistics but it was a tense roller coaster. I don't know how everyone else is reading it, but I loved the idea that we as a society cover up darkness with a glossy façade and pretend that the darkness isn't there anymore. And that all of our privilege comes at a cost to someone else, someone who could be us if things had gone just a little different in our lives. You see it over and over again in the movie in different ways and it really got to me.

I also loved how this movie looks. Jordan Peele has such a keen eye for framing and using lighting and shots to make a moment pop. I loved the scene when Jason gets lost at the beach. Some of those shots were a clear Jaws homage but also he quickly switched it up to make the guy on the beach extra tense. I also loved how the home invasion, in darkness, was filmed. Lupita is a dark skinned black woman and the Adelaide character was glowing in the darkness while Red was able to completely disappear into the shadows at times. It's a total mastery of knowing how to and not to light a black actor that he used both ways to further the tension of the plot. Genius!

I do wish Peele hadn't written the explanation of the tethered being clones that had been forgotten into the script because once he did that, they were real. I would have preferred for the tethered to be some mystical manifestation than a government conspiracy. If they're mystical, I don't have to logic out where they got millions of pairs of matching sheers or the red jumpsuits but because they're real people all of that needs to be explained. How did they do that? If it had just been a manifestation of our darkness, then you can manifest anything as needed.

[ursula]

26 minutes ago, vibeology said:

I do wish Peele hadn't written the explanation of the tethered being clones that had been forgotten into the script because once he did that, they were real.

This. Seriously, for all the (well deserved) ribbing Bird Box gets, that movie got this trope spot on. Sometimes the scariest answer is No Answer. I can bet you a dozen YouTuber theorists would have come up with far more satisfying and intricate explanations for the existence of the Tethered than the Government Conspiracy Did It one. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by ursula

[kiddo82]

I'm curious what Red's/Real Adeline's ultimate goal was.  I'm sure it was to make Fake Adeline suffer and then kill her, hence the "take our time" line while Kitty, Josh, and the twins' tethereds kill them almost instantly, but did she want to leave Fake Adeline's family alive, the family that she was supposed to have and assume her role as wife/mother?  Or were they supposed to just kill them all and live out life on top together none the less?  Or was she just going to do whatever she wanted having been freed for the first time since she was a child?  Gabe is the only one in the family who's tether physically harms him.

Edited March 27, 2019 by kiddo82

[Dee]

'Us': Jordan Peele Has a Secret Backstory for the Tethered

Quote

Peele crafted a film that must be viewed more than once to be understood, with the writer-director estimating there are double the Easter eggs in Us as in his directorial debut, Get Out. Even if you found them all, you'll only be getting a portion of the story.

Peele deliberately is holding back much of what he himself knows about the backstory of The Tethered, the red-wearing doppelgangers who torment a family led by Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke.

"I have a pretty elaborate mythology and history of what's going on in this film. And of course, the dilemma that comes up is how much of that do you tell?" Peele tells The Hollywood Reporter. "When there are questions left, and you know there is more to the story, your imagination is left to run wild."

[topanga]

18 hours ago, phalange said:

I think the takeaway here is that privilege for some means suffering for others. Every time the surface people ate food they liked, their shadows had to eat raw rabbit. When Adelaide had children, Red was also forced to have them, only hers were demonic. Like how a wealthy family having access to certain healthy food is at the expense of poor people, usually immigrants, who pick the fruits and vegetables in horrendous conditions because they're taken advantage of. The shadow people are all the groups of humans who don't get treated as such by the privileged. Hence: "Who are you?" / "We're Americans." 

But Red—who grew up underground—was the real Adelaide. How was fake Adelaide able to control Red’s thoughts and actions?

[Silver Raven]

I hated Gabriel.  He was much too fllippant and laughing his wife's fears off.

[ZoqFotPik]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:58 PM, raven said:

  Can you really survive eating only raw rabbit?

No. It's called protein poisoning or rabbit starvation. I learned that watching "Survivorman"

On 3/26/2019 at 5:23 PM, Snow Apple said:

Woah. I don't know if this is common knowledge but I just read the twins were played by baby "Emma" from Friends.

Thanks for making me feel old.

Regarding the Jason/Pluto switch, those scars on Pluto's face were way older than a year.

This will be a "Just don't think about it too hard" movie for me. It was good, but the explanation regarding the Tethers and a fairly obvious switch prevented it from being great. I was really hoping that Peele would subvert expectations and not do the doppelganger replacement. It is such a cliche. The acting was all around excellent.

[Dejana]

On 3/27/2019 at 3:19 PM, vibeology said:

I do wish Peele hadn't written the explanation of the tethered being clones that had been forgotten into the script because once he did that, they were real. I would have preferred for the tethered to be some mystical manifestation than a government conspiracy. If they're mystical, I don't have to logic out where they got millions of pairs of matching sheers or the red jumpsuits but because they're real people all of that needs to be explained. How did they do that? If it had just been a manifestation of our darkness, then you can manifest anything as needed.

I saw a theory that Red is a biased narrator and her explanation about the government conspiracy is not necessarily the truth, but borne from the imaginings of a child who grew up in a home where movies like C.H.U.D., The Goonies and The Man with Two Brains were on rotation. I don't know if I buy that, but government conspiracy theories tend to be nebulous by nature and it's pretty easy for marginalized people to latch onto them.

[WendyCR72]

Apparently, the twins in this movie have a past acting credit. As Ross and Rachel's baby daughter, Emma, on Friends. Here is an article on NBC Today's site discussing it.

[Shannon L.]

I saw this yesterday.  I'm a wimp, so I was curled up in my chair watching through my eyes and was tense the whole time.  But, that doesn't mean I didn't like it.  I thought it was really good, especially Lupita, but like A Quiet Place, the more I thought about it later, the more I questions I had and plot holes I thought of. 

In regards to the son, I agree that there's no way it makes sense for him to have been switched and think that @vibeology is correct in guessing that he's just more like his mother.  I do think, however, that he learned that something is off about her.  At the end, that look between them said to me "I know that you know...."  The other thing that doesn't make sense in reality or with the switched theory:  the burns.  How did the tether burn his face?  I guess there being a way for that to happen underneath ranks up there with the question about the red outfits and scissors etc....

[wanderingstar]

I liked this movie but didn't love it. I thought the conceit was clever and there were the jump scares that I both love and hate in horror-lol The first two acts are incredibly well done. I especially loved all the stuff in when the doppelgangers first showed up to the Wilsons' house. Lupita was amazing throughout! The sequence in the Tylers' house was also well done (those twins were SCARY!) 

The third act didn't work as well for me, although I did find the reveal of the underground copies to be eerie. I'll probably get more out of this after watching it a couple more times.

I just know that I am already anticipating whatever Jordan Peele does next.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Gillian Rosh

[Archery]

I finally got up the courage to see this last night. I love scary, tense, creepy movies, so this one really did it for me. Are there questions remaining? Of course, but I'm not gonna worry.  I left the theatre thinking, what if? What if I'd been a little closer to Red, and not Adelaide? What if the one or two advantages that broke my way hadn't? I think about the "of course-ness" of young Ade's life, crystallized for me in that moment she drops the unbeaten candy apple, unmindful, like it didn't cost money and it didn't matter. That image really stuck with me. Young Red would have given anything for that one little luxury.

Also, I appreciated the comedy, because as wisecracking as the husband was, he did not act stupidly.  He reminded me of the TSA agent friend in Get Out.  Such smart choices, like going to the boat for Chekhov's flare gun--and then he biffs it.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

I absolutely loved it!

Like I said in the beginning of the thread, I couldn't watch this in theatres.  I had to watch it at home.  I did, and I had a hell of a time!  I really enjoyed it!

I have the biggest crush on Winston Duke.

Lupita for Best Actress at the 2020 Oscars please!

[Schweedie]

On 3/28/2019 at 2:43 AM, topanga said:

But Red—who grew up underground—was the real Adelaide. How was fake Adelaide able to control Red’s thoughts and actions?

This is honestly bugging me so much now that I've watched it. How did Original Adelaide become Tethered just because she ended up down below? That to me implies it's really the dimension downstairs that causes it and not the people themselves, but that doesn't quite gel with what we were told about the Tethered's origins. That formerly tethered Addy could grow into a 'normal' person once she made the switch makes sense in an environment-over-DNA discussion, but not that Original Addy would suddenly turn into the controlled one who would have demonic children (while New Addy had normal children, despite them technically being the same mix of tethered and non-tethered - Jason may have been a little different, but not THAT much.)

...I'm probably thinking too hard about this.

[Bastet]

Now that it's out on Blu-Ray, I finally watched Us this weekend, with a friend who'd seen it in the theatre.  I quite liked it on the whole, but I join others here in wondering how the tethered - if they'd been abandoned in their '80s attire by the government - rounded up all those red jumpsuits and scissors.  And, while it's obvious how the rabbits reproduced readily enough to maintain a steady supply, what did they eat?  And how did these clones of humans subsist on nothing but raw rabbit, when that would actually lead to fatal illness?

I'm also equal parts intrigued and confused by the who controls who aspect; the underground clones were developed as puppet masters, but wound up being the puppets, doomed to replicate what their above-ground doppelgangers were doing.  This becomes a bit mind bending when it comes to Adelaide being replaced by Red.

Which, of course, brings me to the Big Twist, that I hit pause and asked, "Wait, have I just figured the whole thing out already?"  I diligently avoided spoilers, so via the trailer and limited word of mouth I just knew there were doppelgangers.  My first guess, before seeing the film, was we'd think Good Twin had killed Bad Twin, and it would turn out it was actually Bad Twin who'd survived.  But I was thinking of this in terms of two identical adults.  Once the film got started, and young Addie in that creepy-ass hall of mirrors came upon what was obviously not a reflection, but a separate duplicate, I immediately switched to thinking that who we'd think of as Good Twin all along would actually have been Bad Twin as imposter, going back to this moment.

I did waver on it, though - there were things that had me saying I was definitely right (my friend - quite diligently in light of the fact we were several drinks in before starting the film - stayed mum) and those that had me but wait, if she's really the bad twin, then why is she/why wouldn't she questioning my hypothesis.  And since, in the end, I was right, some of those questions are plot holes, I can't label this a work of genius or anything, but it was quite enjoyable.

And, as always with Jordan Peele, provided much food for thought and spot-on humor in the midst of the mystery/horror.  It's such brilliant commentary on nature vs. nurture, and how privilege for some comes at the direct expense of others.  "We are Americans" is The Line of the film.

When the white folks - and oh how I love that the black family were the main, "all-American" characters (and all alive in the end), while the whites were the sassy dysfunctional friends, briefly seen and then butchered - started ordering "Ophelia" around, I told my friend, "Oh, this has to have a good payoff."  I had no idea it would be as great as, "Okay, playing Fuck Tha Police."  That was probably the funniest moment, but there were many.

Speaking of how the cops never show, there was a missed opportunity to not at least have "911 Is a Joke" playing in the background at some point during the various times 911 was called and was either busy or gave a delayed response time.

Anyway, the performances were outstanding.  Lupita Nyong'o, most obviously - Adelaide and Red seemed like they were being played by two different people who looked a lot alike! - but everyone.  Including the kids, because, holy shit, the bad version of Zora was creepy as all hell.  That girl nailed it.

[BitterApple]

I finally saw this yesterday and thought it was "meh." Great cast but terrible script and way too many plot holes. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by BitterApple

[Simon Boccanegra]

I streamed it over the weekend. For now, Peele has settled in a lane of brainy horror with strong actors and a timely message, and he does it well. I had some of the same "Yes, but..." second thoughts that are expressed in critical comments here, both while I was watching and when I was thinking the movie over afterward, but I felt the same way about Get Out (which I liked). I think it's hard to do something truly new in horror at this point, and I like Peele's twists on classic tropes. If in both Get Out and Us, I enjoyed the creepy mystery of the setup more than the explanation and the bloody carnage that are the destination, that may just be my own taste, and it has to go somewhere.  

I actually appreciated Gabe's wisecracking, even though it was not always plausible in the circumstances. It was such a tense and grueling movie, and I found him to be comic relief in the best sense -- better integrated and more effective, in my opinion, than the hero's concerned friend in Get Out. As for his skepticism over his wife's fears early on, I think that's what many of us may have been saying in his place, unaware that we're characters in a horror film. "Yeah, you were in a hall of mirrors. Of course you thought you saw someone who looked just like you. Also...30 years ago."  

It was not watertight perfection, but I appreciated it for its virtuoso tension and for its underlying message. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the conversation come awards time, as Peele's last film was. Lupita Nyong'o, at the very least, should be.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award nominations:

Best Actress – Lupita Nyong’o

Best Young Actor/Actress – Shahadi Wright Joseph

Best Sci-Fi or Horror Movie

Best Score – Michael Abels

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SAG Award nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Lupita Nyong’o

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thaaaaat's how it should be, I am so glad Lupita is getting recognized even though this was released in (February?)

[Spartan Girl]

Honestly, even if I hadn't gotten spoiled on the twist before I saw the movie, I would have seen it coming.  "Addie" wasn't acting like she was scared/traumatized, she was acting like a person with a guilty conscience. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award!

BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE

[Hanahope]

Finally got around to seeing this.  I loved the casting, the acting, the mood, the choreography/cinamatography, and I sortof get the symbolism.  But the story plot holes are just so big I can't really say I liked it.  just how the whole underworld worked, until it changed.  I guess to some extent we're just supposed to accept that Adelaide/Red are "different" and that's how things changed.  Ok, fine, I can live with that.  but how it all worked in the first place just doesn't have enough support/background to form the basis from which to make that change.

That said, I like Jordan's work to make different and more thought provoking ideas.

[BetterButter]

 

[topanga]

That has hilarious. Thanks, BetterButter. 

[Nicmar]

I don't get the hands across America thing with the tethered! can any one explain? lol

 

[Simon Boccanegra]

Adelaide had just seen a Hands Across America promo in 1986, the day of her switch. It wouldn't have been the only one, as Hands Across America hype was ubiquitous that spring. HAA was a sunny, optimistic way of raising consciousness and funds for the disadvantaged and forgotten. There were a song, a music video, T-shirts, other merchandise. It was very on-brand for Reagan-era do-gooderism (e.g., "We Are The World"). 

All these years later, Adelaide leads the Tethered -- disadvantaged and forgotten -- out from underground and co-opts HAA's imagery for her much darker "activism."

The piece below, not a long read, deals with the HAA motif well and includes Vanity Fair quotes from Peele on the subject. 

https://www.inverse.com/article/54329-us-hands-across-america-engages-with-dark-hypocrisy#:~:text=Peele's confirmed as much an,cure hunger and all that.”

Edited December 10, 2020 by Simon Boccanegra

[Crashcourse]

Just watched this last night.  I thought it was laughably awful.

Edited June 9, 2021 by Crashcourse

[DanaK]

I just watched this this morning (yes I know, a little late) and thought it was pretty good and scary. The underlying themes made you think, especially how the haves and have nots fare so differently. I wonder if things with the dopplegangers didn't change until Addie got switched and left there (unlike Red who just got herself out of there) because she had the more privileged background and life and had the will and desire to both want to leave and change things for the other dopplegangers