Story
Sinners tells the story of two twin brothers who return home to the Mississippi Delta after a stint in Chicago to start afresh, however, they encounter something more sinister.
The interesting thing about Sinners is that the story is simple and complex at the same time. You can either take it face value as the story of two brothers who plant open a juke joint (club) and encounter vampires on their opening night, or you could look at it a little deeper as a story of how music (specifically African American musica and culture) can transcend and connect the past present and future. And no, I am not reading into it. There is a scene that depicts this, but we will get into that later.
One of the reasons why the pacing works really well is that it all takes place over one night. There is no time to waste, figuratively and literally. Even in that time, Ryan Coogler was able to tell a story about folklore, culture, and society as a whole.
Acting
I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that THIS is Michael B Jordan’s movie. He plays both Smoke and Stack, two characters that are very similar but very different. During the beginning of the press run for this movie, I read that he would play one role, change while the camera was rolling and play the other role, and that level of dedication is honourable from him and the crew. It felt as though the twins were two individuals completely independent of each other, rather than someone playing both roles. It is also interesting to note that the twins are morally grey, and in my opinion, Michael B Jordan shines in these types of roles. They have the same time of aura as Killmonger did, and I foresee some nominations for him.
And I know this is a review on his acting, but my goodness, he is absolutely gorgeous. I typically don't talk about attractive actors are but he is genuinely one of the most good-looking men to me, and this is the best he has ever looked. Especially with the grills and teeth caps.
 |
| 'Sinners' Warner Bros. |
This movie is Miles Canton's acting debut tells me that he has a bright future ahead of him. Sammie's character changes a lot over the two-hour runtime and goes from optimistic to jaded very quickly, and Miles' performance captures that perfectly. And hearing that he learnt blues guitar for this movie shows a dedication to the role, it really does pay off.
Someone else I need to talk about is Jack O'Connell, who plays Remmick, the primary antagonist, and his performance is amazing. He is charming and almost seductive in the way you would imagine a vampire to be, but is also brahs and unsettling in the way you would imagine a vampire to be.
Now it is time to talk about the women in Sinner, and boyyyy, do they carry this movie.
I know everyone on Twitter is mentioning how Hailee Steinfeld has some out-of-pocket lines in this movie, and yes, she does, but Mary doesn't feel out of place in this movie, and I think that has to do with the fact that Mary is a fairly likeable character. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling the movie, but I always found myself looking for her while the movie was going on.
In terms of the women of Sinners, my favourite performance was Wunmi Mosaku hands down. Her character Annie was the emotional core of the film. Her wit, kindness and knowledge of the mystical and supernatural are the perfect balance for the rest of the characters who disbelieve. And her chemistry with Michael B Jordan was incredibly charged and subdued at the same time.
The last two performances I want to touch on were Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li, respectively. Very much supporting characters, but owned the screen anytime they were on it. Much like other characters in this movie, they are morally grey, which makes this incredibly chaotic situation all the more interesting to witness unfold.
Writing/Direction
I genuinely think this is Ryan Coogler's magnum opus. From a storytelling and filmmaking perspective, this movie is a feast. It is also a multi-layered story about a brother who opens a bar, as well as a story of black spirituality and folklore, as well as a story of the solidarity between people of colour. I saw a tweet that mentioned how the main antagonsit is an Irish vampire who sympathises with the plight of black people due to the oppression of his own people, while also terrorising them, and that is a very intentional and fascinating choice. And even though this is a story about black people, there is diversity here, not just in the cast but in the story.
The scene I mentioned earlier revolves around the song I Lied to You and I am going to have minor spoilers for this scene because I want to talk about it, but I will colour it red so you can skip it if you are reading this without having seen the movie.
While Sammie is performing this song in the juke, you manifestations of the past and future of blue music and how people are, have been and will be connected to the music. Everyone who has seen the movie is talking about the scene, and for good reason; not only is it beautiful from a filmmaking perspective, it's filmed in one take, and you see the way people move to the music as it changes, but it's beautiful from a cultural perspective. I am not African American can't imagine how impactful it would be for someone who is to see their music represented so beautifully. That being said, I am Nigerian, Yoruba to be specific and to see elements of my own culture and the drums that are still popular in our music today, be linked to genres like rock, and hip-hop was a beautiful.
Something I loved about this movie is how it blends religion and mysticism from different cultures. I told my brother after seeing the movie that the mystique around the vampires reminds me of when I was younger and was told that I should not whistle at night. We were never explicitly told why but it was something we were told not to do.
Usually, I make a note to talk about pacing, and this film is paced perfectly; at no point did I feel like checking my watch or checking out of the movie. Sinners is engaging from the first frame till the last, in fact ,many scenes had me like this:
CGI/Set Design
This movie is set in the South, and there is a certain warmth associated with the South; and this movie captures it perfectly.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw did an incredible job, and if you can see it in IMAX, do it. The movie looks absolutely beautiful. From the large expansive fields of the plantations, to the lush greens of the forests? The colours are deeply saturated, they blend when they need to, and stand out when they need to. I cannot talk about the cinematography without talking about the lighting. I love that you can actually see rays of the sun in the movie, and this photo shows exactly what I mean.
 |
| 'Sinners' Warner Bros. |
Not only is there depth in the image, but the colours are beautifully saturated in every single scene you watch. Even at night, the scenes are lit enough to see what is going on clearly, but not so much as to disrupt the eerie and sometimes unsettling feeling of the film.
I also said to my brother, and I am going to say it here. The way the scenes move between aspect ratios scratches an itch in my brain, and it really does immerse you in what is going on, especially because they occur at important narrative points.
Score/Soundtrack
If I called Ludwig Göransson a musical genius, I don’t think I would be wrong. Sometimes when I write reviews, I listen to the score to get in the same headspace I was in while I watched the movie, and to me, the score is instantly recognisable, to the point where I was humming it within the first 10 minutes of the movie. And to quote my sister:
"I love that the score isn’t piano or melodical, it’s entirety guitar and strings. It’s harsh and building."
While I would not call this movie a musical, the music is essential, and it takes you on a journey, infusing country music and blues with more familiar horror motifs. I love it when the score flows with the movie and follows the same tonal shifts as the movie itself. The two are intertwined, from the Irish jigs to the gospel songs to the blues infused with drums, electric guitar and the banjos, guitars and fiddles that make up a good chunk of the score.
When I think about the score, I think of the song 'Smokestack Twins' specifically, and this TikTok perfectly encapsulates how I feel about it and what it was able to accomplish. It has that southern charm, mixed with something gritty and morphs into something mystical.
The musicians who worked on the music have a true understanding of the music of the time period and captured the true essence of not only the blues but the music that inspired it and the music that came from it.
I cannot talk about the music without talking about Miles Caton. His voice is incredible and carries and lot of weight and emotion. His character is the emotional core of the movie, and you feel that not only with his performance, but his voice. The song I Lied To You serves not only a narrative function but an emotional one. Miles longs for a life outside working on the plantation, and he believes that his love of music can bring it to him.
Overall Thoughts
If I were to include every single tweet I liked waxing poetic about this movie, we would be here all day. So I am just going to include a few.
And these 3 tweets perfectly encapsutalte how I feel about the movie. Sinners is something special and I implore you to see it if you haven't. It really does desevrethe praise that it is getting.
Comments
Post a Comment