TL;DR – A profoundly odd slow-burn film that I am not sure lands its bombastic conclusion.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

The Get Out Review Introduction

If you were going to ask who is the best export that Australia has ever given to Hollywood, then I would have to say that Russell Crowe needs to be in that conversation. If nothing else, the man is always working, bringing all of himself into the roles he plays, no matter how small or weird they may be. Today we are looking at a film that might be a good example of this, as we dive into the seedy underbelly of the Gold Coast … I mean Los Angeles.

So, to set the scene, Marco Kapak (Russell Crowe) is a man from Albania who has run a nightclub in America for decades. It was a lucrative career, until a ‘cardiac event’ stops him in his tracks at a most inopportune time. He is finally taking the advice of his girlfriend, Sunny (Teresa Palmer), to sell the nightclub and move to a nice small house in Thailand. The only problem is that Kapak has fingers in many pies, not all of them legal, and they all need to be untangled. Some of them might not want to be untangled.

Slow Burn

The one takeaway I had as this film was rumbling along was just what an odd slow burn it was. It is filled with all these profoundly kooky characters all playing it restrained for some reason. It creates this weird juxtaposition that weighs on you until you realise that these odd characters are all building blocks for the coming cacophony as they all crash together with wild abandon. Now, does the ending land that promise? Well, [SPOILER] I would say it gets to 70% of where it needs to be. Not a deal breaker, generally fun, but when you have Chekhov’s bear, you should use Chekhov’s bear [/SPOILER].

Weird Characters

On that front of weird characters, I do think Russell Crowe is playing out on a limb with that almost The Nice Guys energy to the role. I am not entirely sure about the accent he is using throughout the film, but goodness, does he commit to it. Luke Evans does very well as the shark, playing it cool but waiting to strike. Nina Dobrev is frankly unhinged in this film, to the point where I do wish they had let her go fully-wild with her pairing with the fish-out-of-water Aaron Paul, who is fine here. Also, hi Benedict Hardie, you were kind of fun here. Given that this is a film about bad things happening to bad people, it works best when the cast are allowed to be a bit oddball.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend The Get Out? Well, this is a bit of an odd one. I can say that I don’t think I was really with it for most of the run. However, that build-up to the end was quite interesting once the bullets started flying.

Have you watched The Get Out? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked The Get Out, we would recommend The Gentlemen to you because it is working in the same calamity-is-coming space, but I think it lands the story a touch better.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Get Out
Directed by – Derrick Borte
Screenplay by – Derrick Borte & Daniel Forte
Based on – Strip by Thomas Perry
Music by – Bryan Senti
Cinematography by – Brendan Galvin
Edited by – Mark Warner
Production/Distribution Companies – Fifth Season, Nickel City Pictures, A Higher Standard, Life & Soul Pictures, G2 Dispatch, Vertical, Amazon MGM Studios, & Amazon Prime
Starring – Russell Crowe, Luke Evans, Teresa Palmer, Danny Zovatto, Josh McConville, Ever Love Hope, Nina Dobrev, & Aaron Paul
With – Benedict Hardie, Kartiah Vergara, Steffi Gil, Nikki Shiels, Tennyson Crowe, Yasmin Kassim, Christian Perez, & Jamie Timony
Rating – Australia: MA15+; United States: R