Sinners is a period horror film set in 1932 Mississippi about twins Smoke & Stack(Michael B. Jordan) who return to their home town, after serving in WWI and working for the mob in Chicago, to open a juke joint. They gather local musicians, their cousin Sammie(Miles Caton) and hometown legend Delta Slim(Delroy Lindo), as well as old friends and old flames to help with the grand opening.
Jordan, following in the footsteps of many A-listers, gives his first double role and does so with nuance, energy, heart, and contagious assurity. He's a stellar anchor and beating heart in a stand-out cast in a ambitious kaleidoscopic film. He's always had talent but hasn't really had that much room in which to stretch since Black Panther so it's such a treat here to see him really soar. The supporting cast is absolutely stacked- Lindo(a national treasure), newcomer Canton(primarily a musician), Wunmi Mosaku as Annie(Smoke's wife, who steals every scene she's in), Omar Miller as Cornbread, Li Jun Li as Grace, Jack O'Connell as Remmick the heavy(who hasn't had a role that popped stateside since 2013's Starred Up and really goes for it here), Hailee Steinfeld as Mary(Stack's ex, also doing some of her best work in years) and on and on. All in all the cast just works seamlessly together creating this world and bringing the story to life, each with their moments to shine, all clearly committed to the singular vision and focused on, above all, translating a vibrant and electric humanity.
Visually the film is beautiful, rich and evocative with a grace and deliberation to the way the camera moves that is seldom found in a genre picture. The costuming is immaculate and pitch perfect but it's the score and soundtrack where the film really ascends. The score is thrilling, ever-present, and transportive and the diegetic performances are transcendent, one being a shoe-in for scene-of-the-year. Thematically the film is packed with allusions and allegory about race, art, love, ambition, grief, community, you name it. The plot, especially when the vampire element really ramps up, becomes a bit over stuffed and complicated but that doesn't really detract. The ambition and the ecstatic joy of it all is so apparent, so compelling, any structural narrative messiness is rendered irrelevant.
An infectious, occasionally transcendent, film brimming with confidence and vision. The best soundtrack since O' Brother Where Art Thou? and a glorious return by writer/director Ryan Coogler to non-franchise filmmaking.
Currently in theaters.
Don't Miss It.
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