Cast:
Michael B. Jordan (Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack"), Hailee Steinfeld (Mary), Miles Caton (Sammie Moore), Jack O'Connell (Remmick), Wunmi Mosaku (Annie), Jayme Lawson (Pearline), Omar Benson Miller (Cornbread), Li Jun Li (Grace Chow), Delroy Lindo (Delta Slim), Yao (Bo Chow), Lola Kirke (Joan), Peter Dreimanis (Bert), with Sam Williams (Jedidiah), and Buddy Guy. Written and Directed by Ryan Coogler (#760 - Creed and #1050 - Black Panther)
Review:
“This film is very much me. I love anything supernatural. I’m in. I like stories about communities, about neighborhoods, about archetypes. And I love period anything. So, when you layer those things together, that does it for me.”
It sure is interesting to have a horror movie where an actor gets to sink their teeth in playing multiple roles, isn't it? This is the fifth feature film from Ryan Coogler, who had made his debut as a filmmaker with Fruitvale Station (2013) that incidentally had Michael B. Jordan as the lead (that film dealt with the shooting of Oscar Grant). Apparently, the time to make the movie from pitch to production in less than six months that had shooting on IMAX cameras; it is a co-production of Proximity Media, which I did not realize was founded a few years by the Cooglers. It was after the press tour of the second Black Panther film (2022) had ended that saw Coogler come up with the premise, in which spending time resting with Blues music reminded him of his uncle from Mississippi, stating that listening to the music felt like a way to try and bring him back to life, in a sense. After a bidding war ended with Warner Bros. distributing it, the movie was shot in roughly three months last year for apparently over $90 million and had the pleasure of not being delayed so one could theoretically watch it on Easter weekend (and, for whatever reason, in 25 years Coogler will have the rights to the film reverted to him).
Really the movie is more about community and family than just a straight vampire movie, although From Dusk till Dawn (1996) comes to mind (well, the idea of vampires having a certain type of link reminds me of Vampires [1998], but you can argue with me later). The enjoyment of the movie comes from seeing the gradual peeling of familiar layers in a slow boil of 137 minutes (complete with a certain surprise in its credits), although it probably helps to go into it with as little knowledge as possible. Sure, knowing it has vampires sure is something, because, well, don't be mad that a movie with vampires has vampires, but there is an attempt to have a worthwhile period adventure that has accompanying music for a fusion that does lend for a entertaining atmosphere. Sure, it probably is a bit too long when trying to wrap its ending up, but it will make a solid movie to at least pop in one time if you're into it. It is a movie that shows salvation with the power of making choices for oneself, which in this case means the power of music for one's soul.* The decisions made at the end of the movie are about choices made willingly without settling as some sort of "escape". The film has two actors to hold the movie in viewing the lines of music, power, and some sort of faith: Jordan and Caton (the son of gospel singer Timiney Figueroa, making his debut). Jordan gets a role that might as well be one for a lifetime: playing two folks with their distinct levels of charm within the veneer of tragedy that clearly has shaped them. It isn't merely a gimmick, he manages to make the twins distinct people that are interesting to see in their urges play out (sure, the first half of the film does split them up so one can see distinct interactions, but you get the idea). Caton plays the coming-of-age-turned-survival role with no shakiness, which means a good deal of energy and timing, particularly since it involves the blues that he handles with useful presence that doesn't fade in the background with such a stacked cast. Steinfeld** plays it generally well with the confidence that comes in sorrow that is rooted in love even when the time comes for, well, vampire glee in the eyes. Truthfully, the highlight in the supporting cast is Lindo, who is given a pretty familiar character type in "lovable drunk" that he handles with warmth that makes you smile each time he pops up on screen, although Mosaku makes a go at it with earthy presence when paired with Jordan. O'Connell makes a fine adversarial presence, one that manages to achieve some of the qualities that basically plays it as if vampirism could be its own type of religion or cult that could be an escape from problems (read: Mississippi, October 1932), complete with knowing one's memories as if it was in their own blood. It probably isn't as defined as much as it could be to really make this more than "pretty good", but the pursuit of music and "community" is interesting enough to hold the movie's second half to a certain point. The movie gets wrapped up with tidiness that wants to make it so things are pretty sealed up with each of its three characters that will leave the viewer with general satisfaction (whether it needed a certain beat to happen though is up to the viewer) with the choices that are made willingly in the name of, well, love. As a whole, Sinners is the kind of movie with commitment and energy to its subject matter of Deep South, blues, and blood that might deserve further watches down the line for what it brings to the table in style and charm.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.***
*Noted president of the Josh Allen Fan Club, among other things. Sorry, I couldn't resist, although I'll give you a link anyway.
**Okay, I will admit that the music montage...is one I had to step out in the middle of it happening because I had to pee, but I imagine that might be the standout sequence for some people.
***Correction time. On the previous review of The Family Jewels, a clerical error (i.e. idiot mistake) has now been fixed, in which that movie is a 6/10 rather than the 7/10 I accidentally scribbled first. Also, with Sinners, it is more of a 8.5/10 but I'm not sure whether to actually go with .5 ratings yet, and it seemed best to round up and maybe come back to it later.
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