First dates used to revolve around romcoms or horror films, but now that cliche only exists in other films. Instead, the genres evolved and cross-bred to create Sinners, a perfect date film.
In his first film since the two Black Panther films, Ryan Coogler directs a very different story while still focussing on black empowerment, this time in 1930s Mississippi where Jim Crow laws are suppressing non-white communities.
Michael B Jordan stars, playing both of the “Smokestack” brothers returning to the hometown they escaped from to open a music hall . To do that, they reach out to the loved ones they left behind, mending some relationships, spoiling others, and dodging questions about the new wealth they bring back from Chicago.
But this is only the first half of the film, because then the killing starts.
The twin horrors of the American South
Just like that, Sinners is a film of two halves. The first part seems a lot like the plot of an artsy Oscar winner, and feels a lot like one for the first 40 minutes of the film. The second part is much more memorable than the first, and feels closer to the Friday night popcorn-and-date films from the past.
Coogler seems happy to borrow some of the storytelling devices made infamous by bad popcorn movies: Sinners starts with a narrated and animated lore dump, then jumps to a scene from the end with the rest of the film in flashback. It might sound like the start of a cheap and bad thriller, but Sinners is happy to spend time earning back the audience’s trust before getting to horror it promises early on.
This is what sets it apart from other horror films, for better and for worse. The film’s first act focusses on the brothers putting their band and business together, sometimes feeling strangely like Ocean’s 11, as the brothers get told “You son of a bitch, I’m in!” one too many times.
Just as in a heist film, this does help build up the cast of characters, such as “Preacher Boy” played by Miles Caton in his first acting role. This character development pays off later when the group comes under attack, and every relationship feels important. Being able to understand the relationships between each character turns each gory kill into an actual feeling of loss, in a way that plenty of films miss out on.
However, the slower and more dramatic pace of the first act might leave some confused as to whether they are even watching the right film. The setting looks and feels great, Jim Crow laws aside, but we linger there perhaps slightly too long. The effects of those laws are directly addressed, but in way so quick and inconsequential that feels like it only touches the surface of the wound.
Music, religion, and crime are all important plot points, but are given a similar treatment when they do not really go anywhere. The slower pace of the first act might be justified if it was using these to set up a grand payoff, but these ideas are left dangling, with the feeling that there might be something more there. For an artsy Oscar contender, this would be a death sentence, but for a genre-mashing thriller, this is easier to move on from.
Michael B Jordan vs the evil Irish Sinners
Things really change when night comes. With their team around them, the Smokestack brothers open their new dance hall, with their largest worry being disagreements over how people can pay their tab. Soon after the dance party is threatened by…
Without spoiling the horror elements in the film it is safe to say that there is killing, there is evil, and that the evil is Irish. In a film that pays a clear tribute to the variety of music made by black creators, the distinctly Irish jig associated with the evil forces stands out, and feels oddly as if the somebody from the music team once had an argument with Barry Keoghan.
The evil forces are clearly meant as a metaphor for the threat to black communities, but if this metaphor runs any deeper, I failed to see it. Similarly, the characters continue developing in the early evening, with Michael B Jordan taking an excellent anti-hero turn. However, this quickly becomes unimportant, making these moments feel impressive but somewhat unnecessary in a film that runs for two-and-a-quarter hours.
A notable amount of that time is spent on various hookups. While I have never really researched 1930s Southern American attitudes to cunnilingus, apparently everyone is happy to please, and there is plenty of pleasure to go around. The earlier building of the relationships again helps, making their climax (!) feel more earned. From early on, there is no hint that the film will shy away from the hard stuff, and this becomes clearer as time goes on.
Both sex and tension are well mixed, with scenes edited together to fuse them into something more. Unlike a good date, Sinners is built from 30% horror, 30% drama, 30% romance, and 10% comedy, and in the later part of the film, it is easy to feel all at once.
Similarly, you can really feel the visceral sound effects scattered throughout, and fittingly for a film about music, the soundtrack is constantly excellent. From banjos and harmonicas, the music tumbles through celebration and devastation without ever feeling out of place in the southern US. This is even more impressive during a scene that pays respects to black music of the past, present and future, throwing in instruments that might otherwise be out of place.
In that particular scene, viewers might be surprised to see the spirits 70s pop stars rise up in 30s America, as we slip into a more metaphorical story that seems slightly out of place with the rest of the film. But this is Sinners in a nutshell: It might have been unnecessary, out of place, and frankly a bit odd, but it was unmistakably cool, unique, and a good time.
Sinners: Rhythm or blues?
Sinners is unconventional and sometimes misleading, but that does not make it bad. The various parts of this machine seem oddly matched, but fit together in a way that is at worst pleasing. Teenagers and young adults will likely be blown away, and they are lucky to live in an era with films like this at a 15 rating.
What is the deeper message behind these parts? Who knows. With excellent acting, soundtrack, setting and effects, Sinners does feel slightly less than the sum of its parts, and those looking for deeper themes will leave disappointed.
But looking for these themes misses the fun in a well-made, exciting thriller that puts mainstream horror in an innovative and impressive new format. Don’t miss the mid-credits scene, and consider seeing it in Imax.
Some afterthoughts, overheard from other viewers on the way out:
- “It wasn’t what I was expecting… but I don’t know what I was expecting”
- “They should have done more of that stuff with the moonlight in their eyes”
- “A [monster] musical?”