by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li
Intro:
… a gorgeous sweaty miracle of a flick that brims with style, chutzpah and outrageous horniness.
It’s always a nerve-wracking moment when a talented director leaves the Marvel content mill ecosystem and makes something new, not based on an existing IP. You wonder, has that time cobbling together blockbusters dulled their spark? Such was the fear when Ryan Coogler – the gifted director of Fruitvale Station and Creed – announced his latest film, Sinners. Following Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Sinners needed to be Coogler’s defining statement that he could still bring the goods and create vivid, imaginative films that didn’t necessarily feature armoured rhinoceroses. Happily, ol’ mate Ryan has done exactly that and delivered a film unlike anything you’ve seen for a good long time.
Sinners is the story of twin brothers Smoke (Michael B. Jordan) and Stack (also Michael B. Jordan), ex Chicago gangsters who left the big city to return to their hometown of Clarkesville, Mississippi in 1932. After roping in their musically gifted cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), the twins get busy setting up a juke joint, where dancing, drinking, gambling and likely a decent amount of rooting will take place. What the brothers, and indeed everyone keen to attend the shindig, don’t realise is that dark forces lurk in the steamy night, eager and hungry for their hot blood.
Set over a single day, Coogler’s film is less a yarn and more a textured, layered immersion into a time and place in American history. The uniformly excellent cast are dripping with sweat in the hot Mississippi sun, the cotton fields stretch into the distance, as far as the eyes can see, and the music is so propulsive and toe-tapping that it becomes the heartbeat of the film. Coogler’s direction is so vivid and compelling that the slowburn build up to the eventual carnage feels fascinating to watch. The juke joint scenes in particular, including one bravura musical sequence that needs to be seen to be believed, are executed with jaw-dropping audacity.
Michael B. Jordan provides double his usual helping of macho sexiness, Miles Caton is great as a young man looking for a musical escape and Hailee Steinfeld leaves behind any notion of her as a wholesome kid actress, occupying the role of Mary with a simmering sultriness. This is a deeply, profoundly toey film, dripping with sticky sexual energy and white hot passion.
Ironically, the only time this flick puts a foot wrong is with the vampires themselves, as once the chaos finally kicks off it feels a little too familiar. There’s not much new you can do with vamps these days, to be fair, but the third act plays out like a slight and less creative version of 1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn. It’s not bad, you understand, but after seeing so many scenes of relentless creativity, you’d be forgiven for hoping for something a little less schlocky and rote.
Still and all, Sinners is an undeniably compelling and daring film, a gorgeous sweaty miracle of a flick that brims with style, chutzpah and outrageous horniness. The music alone will likely sweep you away, but when combined with some of Coogler’s most effective visuals to date, this is a truly singular cinematic experience. It takes a lot of big swings, and while not all of them connect, Sinners is nonetheless an unforgettable time and deserves to be seen on the biggest damn screen you can find.
