Sinners

“Blues wasn’t forced on us like that religion. Nah, son, we brought that with us from home. It’s magic what we do. It’s sacred… and big.” Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is a film I’ve owned for quite awhile now and I kinda wish I had seen this sooner because it was exceptional. This was such a beautiful love letter to Blues music and just absolutely incredible. Early in the film I felt like it seemed a little slow but after finishing it I don’t feel that it was. The slow burn expositional things I think really contributed to how emotionally affecting the film was and did an excellent job of creating characters that you care about and have an emotional attachment to. This brings me to one of my favourite things about the film which are its characters. All of the characters in Sinners were so memorable and human. Michael B Jordan was fantastic at playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the film and was especially good at the emotional scenes between the brothers. When Stack is killed/turned the heartbreak and devastation Smoke feels is believable and soul crushingly sad. Miles Caton was also really impressive as Sammie Moore especially considering this seems to be his first film role. Hailee Steinfeld’s performance as Mary was also exceptional and one of her best performances I’ve seen too. The chemistry and complex relationship history between Stack and Mary is memorable and well executed. When Mary returns to the party after being turned my heart just sank and Steinfeld did wonderfully at showing that something changed in Mary and that it was drastic enough that you could tell Stack felt like something seemed off. I also loved how the paranoia experienced by the remaining partygoers was executed in the film. The garlic eating seen kind of reminded me of John Carpenter’s The Thing and was also quite a tense scene. The cinematography in this was exceptional and the film was filled with absolutely stunning and memorable shots. I don’t know how they pulled off all of the twin shots but it was impressive to me how believable it was that they were two separate people and the camera work I’m sure went a long way in making that possible. The slow burn buildup in Sinners was so well done and I loved getting to know all of the interesting characters in the film. The background it gives Sammie, Smoke and Stack, Mary, and Annie was so important in building a strong connection to these characters. The score in this film was so well executed and really fit the vibe and themes in the film. It really oozed with emotion and passion which contributed a lot to the emotional impact of the film overall. Sinners was an exceptional film filled with wonderful acting, strong storytelling, beautifully composed music, and breathtaking cinematography. I already want to watch this film again because it was just so exceptional and such a beautiful love letter to Blues music and the roots of the genre as well.