Get Out: the devil is in the detail

Prior to lockdown, we would frequent the cinema weekly; sometimes even bi-weekly, depending on what was showing at the time. Our cinema of choice was - and still will be, after all of this - the Everyman, in Glasgow. They have adapted well to this current state of uncertainty, running a weekly 'House Party' at 8:30pm on Saturday night. A movie is chosen, one that is widely available on streaming sites, and the idea is that everyone sits down at the same time and has the same experience watching the same thing.

We have 'attended' the party, snacks laid out on our futon, almost every week now. We have watched a wide range of movies from a plethora of genres; Cinema Paradiso, Patch Adams, 500 Days of Summer, The Florida Project, La La Land, Senna and, most recently, Get Out. We had just been discussing what genres had not yet been covered - fantasy, action, horror - and this latest movie satisfied the latter of these 'missing' genres. I was particularly excited about this one; I had not yet seen it, despite wanting to, and my excitement was only bolstered by the movie's acclaim.

Get Out was - is - in my opinion, excellent. I don't think there is anything about it that I could fault. The premise itself is disturbing, offset just enough by appropriate injections of levity (supplied largely by Lil Rel Howery's Rod) that do not cheapen or detract from the story. The acting was sublime; Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams both deliver electrifying performances as Chris and Rose, strengthened by the support of the rest of the cast.

Personally, my favourite part of the film was the little geniuses that can be found in the details. For that, I take my hat off to Jordan Peele. He does not need my praise - *cough* 2018 Academy Award Winner for Best Original Screenplay *cough* - but I will give it anyway. I have no doubt that when I rewatch the movie, I will notice a plethora of things that I didn't the first time. In the case of Get Out, the devil is in the detail; and there sure are a lot of details.

Colour

It is clear from the beginning of the film that colour will play an important role throughout. Not only is the entire premise of the movie somewhat based upon the colour of people's skin, but there are a multitude of other instances of colour being used suggestively. What I am saying here has no doubt been said before, but it is something that I noticed and wanted to share. Blue is something of Chris's colour; he is often seen wearing a soft blue shirt over a t-shirt. It is indicative of who he is - fundamentally - and this shirt is present throughout the movie, with the exception of the first hypnosis scene. In this scene, Chris is wearing a grey t-shirt and a grey hoodie; grey being the colour that exists between black and white, beyond those boundaries. Juxtaposed to Chris's soft, muted tones are the harsher colours worn by the guests at the Armitage party.

As is represented by the above image, the majority of the party's guests - with the exclusion of Logan/Andre - wear a combination of black, white and red. Crucially, these are the first three colours that can be perceived by the human eye, thus asserting their dominance within one's psyche. All three colours are incorporated in some way to comprise their outfits. When the guests are introduced to Chris individually, the eye is drawn to flashes of red within their outfits; a tie, a necklace, a red pattern on a shirt. These colours are particularly important, given what they symbolise. The use of black and white as the basis for most of the outfits refers to the racial tensions that are present within the movie. The use of red, however, can speak to a variety of associations; blood, secret societies, and danger. The former feels almost obvious; these people are in a privileged position that allows them the opportunity to pursue whatever they desire, and they are not afraid to spill blood in their pursuit. Further, red has long since been the colour associated with secret societies, of which there is one present beneath the Armitage's seemingly pleasant tableau. These flashes of red become more apparent throughout Chris's trip around the garden, making us increasingly aware that something potentially underhand ties all of these people together.

Interestingly enough, at the party itself, Rose's parents - Missy and Dean - are the only two white characters not wearing some ominous combination of black, white, and red. In fact, they are both outfitted in earthy tones that serve in making them seem more down to earth, lending them a softness that masks their true identities. Their outfits are offset by small slashes of red, of course, reminding us not to be too trusting of their carefully constructed personas. Dean's pocket square is particularly jarring, given the bloodiness of the red against the deep brown of his jacket.

Red is unanimously the colour of danger, and that is entirely true in the context of the movie. I mean, Rose's name is literally that of a red flower; one that seems beautiful but has hidden thorns that lurk beneath its façade. Her entire identity is entangled with the colour red and thus of the danger that faces Chris. This is further expressed through the fact that Rose is the one driving them out to her parents' house. And what colour is her car? Red.

Symmetry

The use of symmetry was apparent throughout a few scenes in the movie, particularly regarding landscapes. One thing that I noticed was that the symmetry was often ever so slightly off, disturbed by an interfering object. Could this perhaps be an allegory for the Armitage family themselves, whose seemingly perfect exterior is always jarred every so slightly by a strange turn of phrase, reaction or response?

In the above shot of the exterior of the family home, the house itself appears to be perfectly symmetrical, each half a mirror of the other down to the finest point; the topiary, the chairs on the porch, the alcoves. However, the symmetry of this particular shot is thrown off by the intrusion of Rose's car on the right hand side; a red car that we have previously established is symbolic of the danger that awaits Chris. The brightness of the car stands out against the muted tones of the house, offering a stark contrast to the picture perfect exterior that it offers.

It almost seems moot to point out the fact that the symmetry of the above shot is disturbed, given how disturbing this landscape is anyway. As is obvious from even a quick glance at this image, the room is - almost - perfectly symmetrical. The doors at the back of the room mirror one another, as do the four pillars and lamps set up in a square around Chris; setup that feels vaguely sacrificial. The darts board on the back wall is bisected by the centre line, as is the ping pong table that sits just in front of it. Even Chris sits symmetrically; almost, were it not for the tilt of his head to one side. The balance of the room, however, is weighted to the left, as we see it in the above image. The football table, just on the edge of the shot, draws the eye and disturbs the constructed symmetry of the room. As too do the white boards on the back wall - plug sockets? - both positioned on the left of the centre line. The room's balance is shifted to the left, while Chris's - due to the position of his head - is shifted right. Could this be suggestive of the differences and animosity between the Armitage family and Chris?

The above scene is undoubtedly one of the most unsettling in the movie, for a variety of reasons. It is packed to the brim with things that I want to talk about, but for now I'll begin with discussing its symmetry. It is - disregarding the placement of the cereal tray - perfectly symmetrical; Rose's head neatly blocks out the middle picture, allowing the background to be balanced. The only thing disturbing the symmetry of the landscape of Rose's bedroom are the possessions on the bedside tables. On the left - the same side as the cereal (not a coincidence, now I think about it) - is a stuffed lion, one that unnerves Chris earlier in the movie. A stuffed animal is perhaps an object that is associated with youth or childhood; if we take this scene to be Rose's reversion to a teenage state, then the existence of the lion makes sense. On the other side of the room, on the opposite bedside table, is what looks like a fancy afternoon tea stand. That is likely not its purpose here; it is probably just for storing little odds and ends on. Either way, it is something more associated with an adult, or certainly someone older than a teenager. It is entirely juxtaposed to the stuffed toy on the other side of the room, thus indicating the two states that Rose inhabits throughout the movie; that of a seemingly measured adult, and that of a youth.

This scene positions Rose as teenage-like; she sits on her bed with her legs crossed, listening to upbeat music as she scrolls her laptop. Her snack of choice - Fruit Loops - sits at her knee, alongside a glass of milk and a straw. Interestingly, the cereal and milk are separated. This could be a long shot but I perceived this as an interesting segregation between the cereal - rainbow coloured - and the milk - stark white. There are numerous references to antiquated systems of segregation and slavery throughout the movie, and I wonder if the state of Rose's cereal could be an allegory for said segregation.

Everything about this scene is suggestive of a youthful state that is far younger than her actual age, a disturbing regression considering just what she is scouring the internet for. I know I digress, but this scene is just so wildly interesting and packed full of things that just need to be discussed.

Once I get the rest of my thoughts in order, I can see myself writing another post about the rest of the symbolism in the movie that I didn't get to here - there's a lot of it, that's for sure. I'm already looking forward to rewatching this movie and catching more of its intricacies and nuances. I can't honestly believe it took me quite so long to watch it, but now that I have I can't get it out of my head. If you haven't seen it yet - which you probably have - do yourself a favour and watch it. You won't be disappointed.