I got you: OJ and Emerald Haywood

Previous posts in the countdown:

#5: Missy and Cliff Pantone (Bring It On)

#4: Wendy and Jon Savage (The Savages)

#3: David and Alexis Rose (Schitt’s Creek)

When Nope was released in summer 2022, I wasn’t expecting it to be a film I’d end up writing about; it was just a big, fun trip to the IMAX to see a summer blockbuster by a director I like a lot. I am NEVER late to the cinema - I am, in general, the person already in there before the ads have started; I am both pathologically unable to be late (don’t worry, I’ve read the thing about how that’s just as rude as being late1) and very particular about what seat I sit in2 - but for some reason we were late to Nope and so until I bought the Blu-ray I did not know how the coin got embedded in OJ Senior’s eye.

Anyway, I wasn’t planning on writing about Nope, until I saw it and realised I had to write about it, because yes it’s an alien movie and yes it’s a reflection on Hollywood spectacle and scopic pleasure but also it’s a sibling movie, right down to its bones. Jordan Peele said in a promo interview that, “if you have a brother or a sister, I would recommend you take them to see this movie”, and that became the opening line of my book.

The reason for that recommendation lies in the relationship between OJ and Emerald - Peele talks about them having “chemistry”, and although it’s an element that’s sometimes weirdly overlooked when casting for family on screen, when it works it makes a huge difference. There’s a believable weariness that comes over OJ when faced with his sister’s irrepressible energy and a believable delight when Emerald reminds OJ of his appreciation for Oprah - these are not sanitised, Pollyanna-ish siblings by any means - but there’s also a believable bond. There’s no one else, and neither OJ or Em are going anywhere.

‘Seeing’ is important in Nope, but it’s also important in sibling relationships, where a façade can be dismantled very quickly. There are twin scenes in the film where OJ signals to Em by pointing two fingers at his eyes, then back at her - once, when she’s in her room, excluded by their father, and OJ looks up at her window, and the second time when they are enacting their plan to distract Jean Jacket, the alien. This time, Em returns the gesture. In the script, it’s noted as having a dual meaning: “we see eye to eye” but also “I got you”. The latter is entirely apt when it comes to the Haywood siblings; it’s the last shred of the safety net as they face down obliteration.

There’s one scene from the film that I didn’t have space to include in the final version of Screening Siblings, but that I love: when OJ and Emerald go to the electronics store to buy the camera equipment they plan to rig up on the house, to capture footage of Jean Jacket. It’s the fact that they’re united in this insane task, that they’ll indulge each other rather than shut it down, that they’re on a mission that makes total sense to only them. Some crazy shit’s going down? Who you gonna call? Probably your brother.

OJ and Emerald on the porch is the image on the front cover of my book and I am THRILLED about this. You can find it here; it’s out this weeeeeeek.