Sinners (Non Spoiler) Review
When I first saw the teaser trailer for Sinners I was immediately hooked. Another Michael B. Jordan & Ryan Coogler in the bag and once again they knocked it out of the park. Sinners tells the story of two brothers (Smoke and Stack) who return home to find out that their town as an evil prescience lurking over it.
For starters the ensemble cast is phenomenal. Everyone plays a role in the story and everyone is fleshed out enough for you to care about them when the sun goes down. Aside from Michael's dual Performance as twins, Sammie (played by Miles Caton) and Mary (played by Hailee Steinfeld) are standouts among the characters.
Ryan Coogler did a great job at displaying the differences between Smoke and Stack. For example, Stack personality is more goofy/silly, while Smoke is more stern and serious. Everyone was complaining about the trailer, “showing too much" but after watching this film it doesn't. Mary not being a black woman and Sammie's musical career plays a huge part in the plot. There is something huge that puts our characters in this predicament in the first place that you probably won’t see coming.
I absolutely love period pieces because it makes me feel like I'm transported to the time period that the story is taking place in. The costume/production design, action sequences, cinematography, VFX, ensemble cast, the score, the soundtrack, the ending, the pacing and even the humor are all done so well. At times the score can be haunting but also beautiful at the same time. Ryan Coogler's friend and composer Ludwig Göransson has been composing Ryan's films for years and their relationship needs to continue for Ryan's future films.
The music in this film feels like a character. There were times watching this that I felt like I was in church. The blues highlights the black experience and adds to the southern style of the film. While, this is under the “horror” genre I would actually classify it as a horror/musical because the blues doesn't just have effect on our human characters. For Ryan to go out of his way to also highlight the Asian community was well thought out and how inclusive he is.
Ryan Coogler's Sinners is much more than just a “vampire" film. The performances are phenomenal, the costume, production design and the score/soundtrack really highlight the time period this film takes place. Ryan does an excellent job at highlighting blues, white supremacy, religion and even the Asian culture as well. One of the best films of this year and I was not disappointed.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
