“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s newest release, is a wonderful breath of fresh air in a bogged down film industry. The film provides a unique and refreshing cinema experience.
The film follows twin WWI veterans Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) turned Chicago mobsters after the war. The brothers return to their home in the Mississippi Delta to open a juke joint for their local Black community.
Following their journey as they secure an old sawmill and reassert their power back home, the movie begins as an intense Southern crime drama. With immense accuracy to the historical Jim Crow-era of the setting, Smoke and Stack use violence and intimidation to establish themselves, all with the goal of building a haven in which their people, burdened by sharecropping and oppression, can dance and party as one.
Sammie, the twins’ cousin, is a preacher’s boy with a desire to pursue a life in music, guided by his guitar and adept ability for the blues. Bailing on helping at the church to leave for town to work along side his criminal cousins, Sammie’s father warns him: “If you keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
Coogler masterfully transforms this gritty crime film into thrilling folk horror, as he integrates ancient tales and traditions of vampires, spirits, and the taboo, staying true to the preacher father’s fearful words.
Suspense is an understatement for the thrill this movie provides. During my first watch, I found myself continually teetering on the edge of my seat, glued to the tension, gore, and unforgettable violence that begets the second half of the movie.
Returning to form, Coogler invests deeply in the establishment of each character in the plot, which he upends throughout the climax as no character finds themselves safe in the aftermath of the retribution paid out to them at the opening night of their juke joint of lust and sin.
Not only does Coogler dive deeply into the folk history and tradition of the Mississippi Delta Black community but the film also explores the binding nature of music as it has evolved throughout human history.
Sammie may be a master of the blues, but his tunes transcend time as his work follows the path of many musicians of every style who came long before him. Music of every style is omnipresent in the film, resulting in a dynamic score that complements the suspense and intrigue of the film itself.
“Sinners” is a visceral and energetic film that is purely distinctive in its approach to cinematography and plot design, creating an exciting and new cinematic experience that I recommend for anyone to watch. Enjoy the journey with Smoke and Stack through the haunted Jim Crow South, populated by vampires.