Jordan Peele’s latest horror/thriller Us is a fun movie about identity spiced with government conspiracy. Arguably, this worth-watching movie also explores the idea that children’s upbringing is more important compared to where or how they were born. We are all able to achieve great things if we have the same opportunity and means.
This post contains spoilers and my personal opinion. Reader discretion is advised.
Before we get to my understanding of this movie and discuss the sneaky parts I found, let’s begin with the story’s summary.
The movie begins with young Adelaide (Madison Curry) separated with her parents in a funfair by the sea in Santa Cruz, California, sometime in 1986. Strolling by herself, the young girl noticed a storm coming from afar — both literally and figuratively — as she saw thunders on the horizon and a man holding a sign read Jeremiah 11:11, a biblical premonition about the wrath of Lord against those who cheat on Him.
Young Adelaide ended up in a house of glass only to found her double self. At this point, viewers were left puzzled of what would come next. The audience was led to believe that Wilson suffered from PTSD right after the incident as she was suddenly mute and distant.
“I just want my daughter back,” said Adelaide’s mom.
Jump to 33 years later, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) has become an adult and owns her own family with a husband Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke), and two children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex).
I have to admit that I adore the dynamic within this seemingly normal middle-class family. Gabe is the cool dad, varsity-type, pretty up-to-date with gadgets, cars and boats; Zora is the cool child with social media and everything; while Jason is a curious case.
Adelaide began to show some signs of discomfort when she saw the shore in Santa Cruz, the same beach where she went missing more than 30 years ago. So much so that she had to come out to her husband about the coincidences she had been noticing, only to receive dismissal from him.
Seconds from that scene, a family of four were seen standing hand in hand at their doorstep. They wear some kind of red jumpsuit uniform, sandals, and carrying scissors as weapons.
The family — looked identical as the Wilsons — are people known as the Tethered. They lived under the surface, born as the perfect resemblance of people above. They were the victims of the government’s highly classified but failed attempt to control its subjects.
One member of that strange family was a woman named Red who looked exactly like Adelaide and both played by Lupita Nyong’o. The audience can clearly see how Lupita Nyong’o was able to look pretty, innocent, and strong at the same time and then she could look scary, angry, and vain as someone else simultaneously. It was awesome.
“Once upon a time, there was a girl and the girl had a shadow. The two were connected, tethered together. And the girl ate, her food was given to her warm and tasty. But when the shadow was hungry, he had to eat rabbit raw and bloody. On Christmas, the girl received wonderful toys; soft and cushy. But the shadow’s toys were so sharp and cold they sliced through her fingers when she tried to play with them,” Red said.
Long story short, Wilson family’s holiday break went into a nightmare. Millions of cloned Tethered emerged, killing their counterparts — including their friends/foe the Tylers — to regain their independence.
It is worth noting that the Tethered’s weapon of choice is scissors, a pretty poetic choice for two identical knives bound together by a single screw.
The Wilsons made it into the morning, assessing casualties scattered around the city. But, oh boy, the terror has not ended yet. Gabe’s doppelganger Abraham and Zora’s Umbrae were dead but Red and Jason’s doppelganger Pluto were not.
Jason managed to kill Pluto just to be captured and taken by Red. Immediately, Adelaide rushed to trace and follow Red into her underground lair. It seemed odd at first but then — surprise! — the Adelaide we thought we knew was actually Red all these time, the young girl she met at the house of glass more than 30 years ago.
Adelaide remembered how she — as young Red — knocked the real Adelaide unconscious, cuffed her into a bunk bed, and left her to the Tethered.
I certainly noticed a hint of guild on grown-up Adelaide’s eye but then she killed Red anyway, trying to keep the life she had build for all these years. I also noticed how Jason, who hid inside a locker during his mom’s one-on-one deadly dance, slightly changed his attitude toward his mother as if he knew what was going on.
The movie ends with the Wilson family drives into the edge of the country while millions of the Tethered join hand-in-hand making a line across the country, watched by helicopters flying above them.
So, what was it all about?
I think on the essence, this movie is about identity: who we were, who we are, who we want to be, and how we get to be who we are right now. We can assume any identity we want regardless of who we were before but if it’s at a cost of someone, we may need to pay the consequences later. Even if the outcome may sometime benefit us, there is always a chance for guilt to consume us.
Just as the real Adelaide’s life was stolen by Red and then she went on to live Adelaide’s life as her own, we are led to believe by the filmmaker that evil may be among us or indeed within ourselves.
The identity theme was also shown by Gabe or at least his jealousy on his neighbour’s new car, new boat, and the big house. Owning these things is part of one’s identity among society and those materialistic things are achievable but we need to ask ourselves, “Is it worth it?”
Ophelia, the smart speaker owned by the Tylers that reminded me of Alexa, was not even able to call the 911. It may be a long stretch, but Jeremiah 11:11 did warn mere human about false idols. Humankind, as we know it, are pretty much worshipping money and technology now.
This movie can be deep — if we want to see it that way. Otherwise, truth to be told, this movie left many things hanging that almost frustrated me.
Jordan Peele, who wrote, directed, and produced the movie, teased the audience with government conspiracies such as fluoride content in the water as well as animal and human cloning experiments to control the population but failed to deliver further.
The logistics of having millions of human — albeit having no soul, people do need to eat, excrete, reproduce you know — underground is illogical. The underground was too clean to function. Even the escalator at a fancy mall near my house needs repairment regularly and it’s been a month since the last time it worked.
The underground was not even locked as well, why don’t these clones just get out? How can they have this red jumpsuit uniform and fancy leather gloves? Who designed it, who made it? Where did they get the leather? The scissors? And you know DNA doesn’t work like magic, right? There is no way in hell Adelaide and Red could have a daughter and son at the same time, how do they sync?
And, if freedom was what young Red long for, she should’ve just run and broken free instead of stealing Adelaide’s life. I’m really angry at this point.
However, I also managed to see the possibility that Peele might be on to something. He might have slipped some hidden plots in this movie.
First of all, take a good listen to the movie’s soundtrack by composer Michael Abels. By listening to the opening song, Anthem, the idea of organized movement and a despicable child behind it has already stored on the back of my head. It sounded evil, massive, and rooted as if having clone doppelganger is centuries-old customs.
“I wanted “Anthem” to sound like an evil march. Like you knew that someone with bad intentions was coming,” Abels said in an interview with the Slate.
Two, the way Peele made sure the cuts and the sounds off-camera in this movie are telling a story. This movie is indeed showing a pretty healthy dose of gore but the ones we listen and not see could be the most traumatic ones.
Third, check out glances, side eyes, gestures, and body language made by the characters in this movie. They managed to convey a feeling or even a message without a single word.
For instance, take a look at grow-up Adelaide’s glances to her children’s doppelganger. The red jumpsuit-wearing little monsters were indeed monsters but a slight warmth on Adelaide’s eyes toward them should be a warning sign that she might identify with them.
Adelaide also looked at Umbrae with pity — not hate — at her final moment and she also looked genuinely shocked when she saw Pluto burning himself as he mimicking Jason. To be honest, it might be a long stretch, but that very moment made me suspicious about Jason.
There are theories I found on the internet about Jason being one of the Tethered. Jason changed after visiting his grandmother, unable to speak, found language rather interesting, and forgetting things.
Jason’s odd behaviour, comments, and body language did not help either. Instead of being terrified seeing someone exactly looked like his family, his face instead showed “Oh no, I’m busted”.
“ It’s us,” Jason said, looking at the Tethered.
Red also caught him several times but did not harm him at all.
At the end of the movie, Jason and Adelaide exchanged glances, seemingly agreed to make a silent oath not to reveal each other’s secrets.
So, that’s my take on Us. I really enjoyed it as it kept me on the edge of my seat but when I had time to think about it further, there are many questions left unanswered.
