Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Written by Alexander Reams
79/100
By this point in the life of Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” so much has been said, from the perspective of black ownership in America, to the brilliant mish-mash of vampires, blues, and the idea that eating out will save your life. Firstly, the idea that Coogler finished nearly 6 years in the Marvel Machine and decided to make a film about a white vampire sucking the life-force out of the black community has not been discussed nearly enough, which leads this piece into the plot of Coogler’s truly insane opus. Newcomer Miles Caton’s Sammie considers the command of his preacher to leave music behind as he stands scarred physically and emotionally before an awestruck congregation.
Boom. Smash cut to black and we’re introduced to the SmokeStack twins (Michael B. Jordan), on the run from Chicago with ambitions to open a juke joint, the first half of the film takes off with a quickness, we are introduced to Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) who they hire as the bouncer, Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao) as the caterer and decorators, and other residents of the Mississippi town of Clarksdale descend on this club as the sun sets. Coogler gives the town a lived-in sense and gives each performer room to breathe and give depth to their character, which allows each to have a moment before the film shifts gears for its second half. As Coogler splits the twins up to set up Club Juke, Smoke visits his former flame, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). Their relationship had dissolved through the loss of a child, but the love is still there, and Jordan and Mosaku have electric chemistry. Stack, however, is accosted by his former flame, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a white-passing woman whom he gave an Irish goodbye to.
Speaking of the Irish, in the film’s second half, we are introduced to Jack O’Connell’s Remmick, an Irish vampire who oozes charisma and ultimately turns two KKK members into his vampiric lackeys, and when later asked if he’s associated with the Klan, his responds with a singular moment for the film. From there, the film leans into its genre tendencies, and Coogler excels in an environment not bogged down by CGI and creative team demands. In short, Coogler’s film about finding freedom helped the Writer/Director find some creative freedom himself. From the marketing of “Sinners,” where he was positioned like Nolan for “Oppenheimer” or Peele for “Nope,” he went out and sold his big spectacle film, including the now-iconic Kodak Video where Coogler went into the work he and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw did to put the film on celluloid. The film was shot entirely on 65mm film, with a combination of 5 perf 65mm Ultra Panavision 70, which gives a super widescreen feel, and 15 perf 65mm IMAX film. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same camera package Nolan uses.
“Sinners” has been lauded as a “masterpiece,” and while that may eventually be the consensus, on initial exposure to the film it overwhelms the viewer with the shere *amount* of ideas and tropes that Coogler assembles into his “One for Me” film after 10 years of making “One for them.” He throws a single-location vampire movie into a blues movie into a film about trying to own something in a time when society doesn’t want you to own anything, and does all of it work? No, the hoodoo aspects are not explored nearly enough despite being a central crux to the sequence of the film where Miles Caton’s Sammy shows the spiritual power of music across genres and decades, and while it’s astounding to watch, ultimately it doesn’t have the thematic effect on the film that Coogler wanted it to. But the key question is, does all of that dismantle the bat-shit crazy film with a legendary score and a star-cementing Michael B. Jordan performance (in addition to the electric ensemble assembled), and all of the technical performers working at their highest level? Absolutely not, and I look forward to going back and peeling the layers of Coogler’s beautiful onion of a film.
“Sinners” Trailer
You can connect with Alexander and see more of his work on his website: http://alexanderwreams.com/