Sinners

❝You keep dancing with the devil... one day he's gonna follow you home.❞ ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── What an experience this was. I only watched this film a couple of hours ago, but I already wish I could see it for the first time again. I've seen several reviews saying that this is just a copy of From Dusk Till Dawn, and while I agree that there are similarities in the plot points, Sinners has so much more depth and impact. From the very beginning it grabs your attention with little drops of information and good jumpscares before delving into the flashback that leads up to that point. The characters being introduced one-by-one helps to give them personality and establish their relationships with one another, as well as providing some witty dialogue. In my opinion, the introduction of the vampires into the story is done more smoothly in this film than in From Dusk Till Dawn, which adds to the tension as we approach the turning point. The first half of the film went by a little slowly, but the pace definitely picked up after the real action began, where there was some excellent fight choreography and VFX. I was in constant tears during the last fifteen minutes or so, because the ending was shocking, of course, but also so poignant. What impressed me the most was the music. I think it's easy to forget the power music can have on people, and especially the history and culture behind it. I'm not Irish or African-American, but I was sucked into the raw emotions in every song and piece in the score, and the music carried the themes of the film through the charming lyrics and instruments; I especially loved Miles Caton's voice mixing with the various old and new instruments during 'I Lied To You'. I don't think there was anyone in the theatre who wasn't touched by the beauty of the music. Michael B. Jordan absolutely crushed it in his dual roles as the twins; after the inital reaction they became separate people in my mind for the entire film, and it was mostly due to his use of body language and voice modulation. I vastly preferred Smoke over Stack since their introduction due to his more mature mannerisms, which Jordan was able to pull off flawlessly with slightly nervous stance and sterner voice. He seemed to have a steadier head about his shoulders, and genuinely loved his wife which elevated him in my head compared to his twin. The editing of the two roles together was so well done; I actively tried to find issues but couldn't. Through it all, the brotherly bond was very strong, and what was once a strength became the two's weakness. Miles Caton was also excellent in this film. Sammie was simultaneously innocent and mature beyond his years, and of course extremely talented. He had great chemistry with Jayme Lawson, who was also really good as Pearline. I think Caton was perfect for his role, and utilised facial expressions to convey subtle changes in emotion. Many a tear was shed towards the end when the shot zoomed out and the sign above older Sammie and his band was visible. Hailee Steinfeld was good, but in my opinion she didn't have enough screen-time. However, she worked really well with Jordan, and their toxicity aside, I did like them as an on-screen couple (apart from that one scene). Jack O'Connell did an excellent job as the charasmatic villain in the story. Even I found myself entranced by his words as he tried to persuade the survivors to let him in, and the dance scene revolving around him had so much energy and power; I was slightly sad when he died. I rewatched His House a couple of months ago, and I loved Wunmi Mosaku's performance in it, and she delivered the same quality in her role as Annie too. She was also a great on-screen couple with Jordan, and that scene near the end with their baby made me sob harder than I have in a long time. Omar Miller and Delroy Lindo were so good and provided some fab comedic relief; they didn't deserve their fates at all. Li Jun Li did excellently because although I initially liked Grace, that all went down the toilet the minute she succumbed to the vampire bait. She and Yao were cute together and the tension when he was trying to persuade her was almost unbearable. Sinners deserves every bit of praise it's getting, and hopefully I'll be able to rewatch it soon. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping in advance that it gets nominated for lots of awards and the people in and behind it get their flowers.