The Counselor vs Get Out

The Counselor

At a party early on, the dealer Reiner describes the bolito, a device that tightens around a person's neck and decapitates them. It sounds like a story told for color. Later, Malkina has Westray killed with it. The film gives the object screen time because it will use it.

Get Out

The cotton stuffing in the chair's armrest, the deer antlers, Rod's TSA job and the camera flash on Chris's phone all show up along the way. Each one ends up being something Chris needs to survive.

The Counselor

The film opens with cocaine hidden in a sewage truck and driven across the border, so you see how the trade really works. Then the Counselor, who has never done a deal, stays calm even after Westray warns that Mexican cartels are merciless. You know more than he does, and every confident line feels dangerous.

Get Out

From the opening scene, the images and dialogue warn you of a danger Chris only partly sees. That gap keeps the tension high for pretty much the whole film.

The Counselor

Reiner tells the Counselor about the day Malkina climbed onto the hood of his yellow Ferrari while he watched from inside the car. You see her the way Reiner does, dazed and not in control of the moment. Looking is a form of power here, and she decides what he gets to see.

Get Out

During the scenes of racial microaggression, Peele keeps putting the camera where Chris is. You end up feeling how exhausting it is to be watched, fetishized and treated as an outsider.