or, “I Would Say That Was His Job”:
A spoiler-free mini movie review.
3.5 out of 5
“Innovation is not always embraced and art is to be interpreted… I’ve had a career of making classic movies that weren’t critically received…”
– “Him” actor Marlon Wayans, comparing its critical disparity to the ‘cult’ status of 2004’s frequently-cited ‘worst movie ever’ “White Chicks”
[cont’d]
If my spouse believed that “Get Out” & “Nope” auteur Jordan Peele ‘made’ “Him” – because his name is featured on the posters like a badge of honour – then methinks we should first clarify what it is a producer does.
In layman’s, a producer’s interest is in a film’s financial return: sometimes they’ll invest enough to get a credit, but not enough to have any sway; others act as executive oversight. Peele produced & co-wrote 2021’s “Candyman 4,” which means he may have had a hand in that film’s most innocuous bits, but doesn’t mean he takes agency for the lion’s share of a negative review’s opinion (although, having hated Candyman 4, I would say that was his job).
Today’s feature is about the journey opposed to the destination: Him is a violent, straightforward polemic on fame & its gaslighting of the ego, through the lens of religious indoctrination. Its points on the testosterone-fuelled world of American football aren’t news, nor is Him concerned with traditional cinematic structure. It’s an art movie.
If you can get over the absent throughline, under such conditions, Him is quite a bit better than other reviews suggest. TV director Justin Tipping showcases arresting imagery (evoking the gamut from Ben Wheatley & Panos Cosmatos to Shigehiro Ozawa), and great casting: Tyriq Withers (the jock from July’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer 4”) is wide-ranging as the gullible GOAT-to-be; Wayans is effective, in a role older brother Damon may have accepted thirty years ago; and comedians Jim Jefferies & Tim Heidecker show up unexpectedly, welcomingly, and undistractingly.
Him’s themes suggest Peele’s underwriting was from having found a kindred spirit in Tipping, but the dichotomy between their creative action is where Him’s flaws lay: its laser-focus resists audience commiseration. I would have gladly taken a longer runtime had we seen our hero’s initial injury; left the compound to check on the underdeveloped ‘family back home’ (maybe their mounting a rescue attempt); and viewed the ‘fans’ from a three-dimensional perspective.
If Him’s receipts deem it a failure, and people assume it’s a Peele movie through-and-through, what then are the prospects for Jordan’s next self-directed feature, or his greenlighting instincts as producer? We’ll have to wait and see. Until then, Him is an intense headpiece that may play better streamed at home and paired with “Us.”
//wd 9.27.2025
Poster sourced from impawards.com. Publicity photograph property of Universal.
theory of a daskeman 