As far as tentpole films go, Sinners (writer-director Ryan Coogler’s fifth feature) is a refreshing instance of a release that retains both broad genre appeal and enough of a sociopolitical subtext to keep discussion going among its more brainy/artsy audiences. This is not an easy combination to handle, and it is assuring to see such a film perform well at the box office; although the following weeks will have to generate similar performances in order for it to break even, what with its high production costs. I will not be surprised, however, if it ends up turning a profit, as word-of-mouth hype will undoubtedly help pack the auditoriums. I saw it this past weekend, and while I wasn’t looking to be blown away (the trailer, on top of being a spoiler-fest, did not prime me to expect anything more than the sort of star-studded genre concoction with “Something More To Say” that’s all the rage these days), neither was I expecting it to be as solid as it was, balancing out its over-the-top elements (which are fun, it should be said) with a script that takes its time, and fleshed-out character dynamics that nicely layer what is, on the whole, an entertaining shoot-’em-up vampire flick.
Set in 1932, Sinners follows the twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan, in a double role), who are war veterans-turned-gang members. After years of travel, they have come back to their hometown in Mississippi to set up a juke joint. Smoke is reserved, brooding and severe, while Stack is looser, the more suave one of the pair. Both are capable of meting out great violence, but nevertheless see to their own. With the help of their little cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a singer-guitarist of promising talent who is restricted by his father, a no-nonsense preacher, and other members of the Black community, they aim to hit big and attain a measure of power in a familiar setting, rather than in Chicago or elsewhere.
Unbeknownst to them, however, lurk double threats: a shadowy Ku Klux Klan chapter who sold the property to the twins, only to plan on shutting it down by means of force; and a Celtic vampire named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) who, upon his introduction, is fleeing the retribution of Choctaw hunters. He ends up at the house of a Klansman and his wife, and, after deceiving them, turns the two into his minions.
The bulk of the conflict involves Remmick and his desire to propagate his influence via turning others into vampires; and turning Sammie in particular, whose musical talent is capable of conjuring the spirits of both one’s ancestors and descendants, as outlined by the film’s prologue. Remmick wishes to use Sammie to bring back his ancestral clan, who were eradicated by Christian settlers/beliefs.
Although it sounds like an ungainly exercise, Sinners manages to stay on its feet for the most part without resorting to screeds and/or outright sensationalistic mayhem. As mentioned before, the film does not rush into the main action, instead letting the relationships between the characters come to light gradually, and with dashes of old-timey humor. The differences between Smoke and Stack are limned here, and while Stack is gregarious, Smoke is the leader; Sammie, whose boyish charm is countered by his naivete, must choose between Stack’s frothy encouragements and Smoke’s realism. His talent might prove lucrative, but it might also lead him down a criminal path, especially if he continues working with the twins.
Also introduced are Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), an elderly, wise-cracking musician; Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke’s former lover with whom he’d had (and lost) a daughter, and the local witch doctor; Grace and Bo (Li Jun Li and Yao), a shopkeeping couple of Chinese descent; and Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a white-passing young woman and spurned old flame of Stack’s.
Though I appreciate the measured pacing of the build-up, Sinners‘ main attraction is the vampire reveal and its consequent gore-fest. A lot of Dumbest Possible Action tropes abound, of course—why, for instance, do some of the vampires just high-tail it out of the juke joint once caught? Why can’t they invite the others in, once invited themselves? And can’t they just burn down the juke joint in order to force those inside out? Also, some ostensibly intelligent characters commit fatal errors which would not otherwise be committed if the plot did not require such of them. (Think the murder fake-out, which is only done to showcase an unnecessary Hidden Killer diversion; or Grace’s pivotal cry.) Tired as it is, this simply comes with the territory, and at the very least they provide, like the film’s handful of sex scenes, some superficial thrills.
Now, I usually try to avoid spoilers, simply for the sake of courtesy, but really, the general plot details are not so important. A bunch of characters croak. The de facto protagonist Sammie survives (the very first scene shows this) and the reluctant hero, Smoke, heroically dies eliminating the last vestiges of the Klan chapter. Remmick, of course, is burned by the sunrise, and we have a mid-credit reveal of Stack and Mary’s survival, with Sammie as a now aged and famous musician (played by the venerable Buddy Guy). These are some of the more predictable elements of Sinners, and therefore the least interesting.
Apart from its entertainability, the thematic content of Sinners seems to be what is garnering the majority of praise; and such is not totally unfounded, as it does attempt to take a genre staple like the siege movie and deepen it with pathos beyond just the usual melodramatics. (Although it certainly has its predecessors: George A. Romero trapped his characters in a country farmhouse surrounded by a relentless threat all the way back in 1968, with Night of the Living Dead.) Sinners uses the basic idea of a Black community besieged as a springboard to examine the threats (whether perceived or genuine) of assimilation, as well as the vague line(s) separating unity from mere homogeneity.
Also of note is Remmick, whose pagan Irish background, and his culture’s eradication by Christian missionaries, parallels the African American experience of cultural suppression/elimination. He, like many of the Black populace in the community, uses music as a salve against his isolation, and as a way to build his own tribe, or “family.” The commentary here seems to be how the oppressed learn, knowingly or not, to adopt their oppressors’ ways, and then turn it on those perceived as even lower on the totem pole. One recalls the long and complicated history of Black and Irish relations in the States, due to shared (although not completely identical, to be sure) poverty and competition for jobs/resources.
Is Sinners too on the nose, at times? Sure, and although one normally doesn’t go into a vampire-action-thriller expecting to be wowed by bravura technique or intense psychological depth, for as much praise as the film has been getting, I was expecting something along the lines of a John Sayles-esque genre flick, but instead got something closer to Woke Tarantino—which isn’t unwelcome, per se, but certainly not worthy of the sort of breathless hype-ups you’ll see in online reactions. Coogler can build a screenplay adeptly enough but seems less adept at deploying subtleties. One scene in particular has garnered pretty much universal praise (the ancestral/future spirit oner throughout the juke joint) and while it’s shot competently, I found it to be rather cluttered, kind of corny, and even a little lazy—surely there are more dynamic ways to portray the idea there, but hey.
For all its faults, I have no problem recommending Sinners, as it is a great way to spend a couple hours in the theater, especially after a long work week. You can, by turns, switch your higher-order mental functions off to enjoy gunplay and gore-splatters and switch them back on to entertain some intriguing societal commentary. Plus, the music (overseen by frequent Coogler collaborator Ludwig Göransson) is very well-chosen, with some great singing, to boot—and that surely everyone can enjoy.
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