Sinners Movie review

Ryan Coogler proves he one of the best directors working today creating a vampire movie unique to him that is sexy, violent, and delightfully entertaining.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Ryan Coogler creates a gothic vampire tale that feels like Django meets Dusk Till Dawn meets a Jordan Peele movie that is so rich in the cinematography, production design, costumes, and score that come together beautifully that feels so unique to Coogler that it just excites me to see where he can go creating more original films that are his ideas which we need so much more of in film today. The ensemble cast of the film is spectacular everyone from Michael B Jordan playing twins, Haile Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Miles Caton in his film debut who just wowed me and so many others even in small parts they all make an impression.

Coogler does such an incredible job directing this film from Fruitfail Station to this film you can see the skill and the confidence grow to know he is an Auteur master filmmaker the way he moves the camera from the tracking shots in main party scene is Scorsese level brilliant.  The way he makes music a character in the film is so vibrant that it engrosses you into the film even more the dance number in the middle of the film is the number 1 example of that Coogler can build character, establish what the twins are trying to build, and endear you to these characters. Cooglers pacing of the film in my opinion is done so well the film never dragged, felt like the film lost focus, or that Coogler couldn’t weave all the different threads he has going on character plot or thematically and how he switches between different genres with the first half being a period piece drama of these brothers starting a Juke Joint to get ahead then it becomes a bloody vampire movie that rules.

The ensemble cast of the film is phenomenal starting with Michael B Jordan as the twins Smoke and Stack is fantastic personally, I’m a sucker for when an actor plays dual roles the best one in my opinion is Jeramy Irons in Dead Ringers who is astounding. Micheal B Jordan can make these 2 characters fully realized people who you can connect to and tell which twin you are watching by their mannerisms, the way he holds himself in different scenes, and their personalities are distinct from one another you would think he has a twin brother in real life. Haile Steinfeld as Mary Stacks old flame is just as good, she can go toe to toe with him in every scene she has a strength in combo with a vulnerable longing to be with Stacks because he is who she loves and their chemistry on screen is electric. Delroy Lindo in a film of amazing performances for me steals the movie he is hilarious in a way that is infectiously charming that makes the character so endearing to watch he finds humor in ways that you do not expect. The last 2 cast members I want to highlight are Miles Caton in his film debut as Sammy a son of a preacher who is a musician that wants to pursue his passion of music but struggles with his father’s desire for him to be a preacher thinking that his music will bring the devil and Jack O’Connell who you can argue does play the devil as Remmick is deliciously wicked as this vampire who brings a darkness to the twins Juke Joint he is charismatic, compelling, and when he lets loose is terrifying you are so worried for the main characters survival not just not becoming a vampire but giving in to temptation.

Technically this film is off the charts the cinematography and production design working in tandem not only are jaw droppingly beautifully in on how they bring 1930s south to life in immersing you into the world of the film but thematically telling you so much about the characters. The costumes in tandem also do a lot of that work to convey the world these characters inhabit like the twins dressing in these nice suits to convey they have been making some money coming home from Chicago or Mary being this confident sexy woman who is strong but also vulnerable at the same time. The score of the movie is incredible Ludwig outdoes himself once again creating a score that is not only memorable but seamlessly weaves its self into the story that is so unique from a lot of films in recent memory from the dance number in the middle of the film to the emotional dramatic scenes between characters like when Mary confronts Stacks at the train station or when the vampires show up the guitar rip that comes in is awesome it really adds to the dread that builds the tension in the back half of the film.

Final thoughts on Sinners is I loved this film so much when people say we want more original films this is what we are talking about I beg all the studios to let master filmmakers like Ryan Coogler get mid budgets(40-100 million) to tell original stories that are not remakes sequels or Ip based so we can get the best of both worlds so if you can please go out to a theater this film deserves your time and money I will give this film a 4.5 out of 5 the only critique of the film I have is the last bit feels a bit tacked on and not weaved into the narrative  as much as I would have liked.