I have dutifully watched black struggle movies every year for awards season, and supported the work of the black filmmakers who feel compelled to make so many miserable period dramas about the African-American experience. Though I admire many of these movies, I don't particularly enjoy them, and most of the time they leave me feeling depressed. "Sinners" starts in similar territory, set in the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s, where the local black community is very poor and under the thumb of rich white landowners. However, the movie is definitely not operating like prestige cinema.
"Sinners" has a lot to say about race and prejudice and the historical roots of some persistent American social ills, but at the same time it does a fantastic job of being thoroughly entertaining. The trailer heavily suggests, but doesn't spell out exactly what kind of film "Sinners" is, and not knowing the specifics is probably the best way to go into the film. If you want to preserve the surprises, you can stop reading here, and I'll just say that the film is an excellent combination of several different genres, with a magnificent soundtrack, and well worth your time.
Still with me? Let's get into some details. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" is a total original, somehow a musical, a horror movie, and a quasi-western action flick all at the same time. It is enthusiastically R-rated, not just for blood and gore, but plenty of sensuality and non-explicit sex scenes on the way there. Michael B. Jordan stars in a double role as Smoke and Stack, twin brothers who have returned from working in Chicago with a wagon full of illicit goods and plenty of cash, intent on opening their own juke joint. They recruit their younger cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a preacher's son and gifted musician, Smoke's estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), local blues player Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), field worker Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), and Chinese shopkeepers Bo (Yao) and Grace (Li Jun Li), to help them with their grand opening. Two unexpected arrivals threaten to throw wrenches in the works. First, there's Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Stack's jilted lover who is the wrong color to be hanging around the twins' new enterprise. Then there's Remmick (Jack O'Connell), an Irishman of malevolent intentions who is new to the area.
"Sinners" is a musical in the same way that "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and "Lovers Rock" are musicals. While it doesn't follow the structure of a classic song-and-dance spectacle, "Sinners" is a movie where musicians and musical performances play a big part in the story, and are vital to the tone of the entire piece. The first half of the film meticulously sets up the big night. We learn all the ins and outs of community, and characters are introduced and brought into the story one by one. Once we get to the juke joint, however, the musical performances start to drive the action and shape the structure of the film. A singer named Pearline (Jayme Lawson) appears on the scene as a love interest for Sammie. The most important set piece of the film is not an action sequence, but Sammie taking the stage and playing the blues so transcendently that it summons visions of the past and future. Shortly afterwards, Remmick is at the center of another arresting number, featuring Irish folk music. Ludwig Gorransson takes the opportunity to pay tribute to the era's music and culture in many different forms.
The mix of different traditions is great to see in "Sinners," which has taken pains to include not only the Caucasian and African-American communities of the Mississippi Delta, but also historically accurate Chinese characters, Native Americans, and allusions to other minority groups. It all helps to create a more complex, nuanced picture of the Jim Crow South than we usually see in movies, and highlight the commonalities in the diverse characters. While they inhabit a dangerous world full of unseen pitfalls and sudden cruelties, Coogler emphasizes that joy and optimism can exist here too. Parts of the third act are a little indulgent, with a sharp turn into traditional horror movie territory, and Michael B. Jordan showing off his badass credentials, but it's awfully satisfying to watch.
"Sinners" is long and winding and full of little digressions, but the journey is worth every step. I appreciate the extra time given over to making the characters full, well-rounded personalities. I love the cinematography, which plays with aspect ratios and spatial relationships in delightful ways. The sound design is fabulous. I don't feel I can single out any of the performances because the cast is so good across the board, but Miles Caton is one to watch out for.
And I haven't been so thrilled and entertained by the ending of any film in ages.
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