Sinners Might Make Coogler, Jordan Saints of Vampire Flicks
Sinners is a good movie. We begin the film at the end, with a barrage of flashbacks. I do not know if this was just our screening but these flashes of the story about to unfold were ear splittingly loud. From there we head back in time one day to see how we’ve arrived at our unsettling beginning.
Michael B Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack, home from up North where they’ve made their fortune. Returning back to their home they plan to open a juke joint for the community and they’re putting a band together. The first hour or so of this film is logistics, reuniting with friends and loved ones and a barn raising. Every character has at least one moment to shine and the whole town feels so full. It is surprising how consistently funny it is. Delroy Lindo stands out especially in my mind in this regard. The women however stole the show for me. Annie, played by Wunmi Mosaku, Pearline played by Jayme Lawson and Mary played by Hailee Steinfeld were some of the most compelling women I’ve seen on screen in recent memory. Jordan, surprising no one, absolutely dominates as the twins and the crowd I was in was not shy about cheering for them, lusting after them and everything in between.
About an hour into the film Sammie, played by newcomer Miles Caton begins to play in Smoke and Stack’s juke joint and the walls between the past, present and future of music erode. Folks from the past and the future dance together in a perfect scene, then I remember the vampires were coming. The fantastical blues history was so wonderful that I wanted the whole film to live there. Caton is excellent and I am excited to see what he does next. His depth of character, grasp of music and ability to pull focus from such a strong cast can and should be commended.
The vampires, lead by an Irishman named Remmick (Jack O’Connel) with two Klan members, arrive at the juke joint fairly quickly after this song, drawn by Sammie’s magic. From there our friends and loved ones we’ve gotten to know over the last hour begin to be picked off one by one, turned into vampires themselves until a small core group remain. I spent a lot of this film wondering if vampirism was a metaphor but never got a clear answer. The back half is a high octane, thrilling, almost haunted house style feature. It is not over the top gory but what gore there is is exceedingly effective.
I would feel remiss if I didn’t take a moment to talk about the score. It is a wonderful blues score that incorporates more and more electric elements as folks begin to be turned. There is one line in the after credits scene that made me wonder if the characters could hear the music the whole time. If I can give you one piece of advice about Sinners it would be this, please, please stay until the very end of the credits. In a decision I find odd, writer/director Ryan Coogler hid the emotional resolution of the film there. It is well worth waiting for.
I give Sinners (Warner Bros.; R; 2 hrs 17 mins) a 4.5 out of 5.
