Delivering his first essentially original screenplay since his 2013 breakout Fruitvale Station, filmmaker Ryan Coogler basks in the glory of a post-Creed/Black Panther space with the liberating Sinners, a gory, horny, relevant reflection on Black culture and artistry.
Set in 1930s Mississippi in the midst of Prohibition, Coogler’s gradually escalating gonzo horror effort finds its inspiration in the legend of local bluesman Robert Johnson, and the notion that he sold his soul to the devil in return for fame and fortune. It opens on the bloodied body of a terrified guitarist, clutching his instrument, and running into the sancturary of a church, where the preacher orders him to put the guitar down in a bid to cleanse him of his sins.
What those sins happen to be – or what our poor, scared soul decides – are left unanswered for these opening minutes, with Coogler offering to take us back 24 hours earlier to just how this terrified young man, revealed as Sammie Moore (Miles Caton, making an absolute impression in his debut feature), came to be in his predicament.
It’s a beautiful day, and Sammie has reconnected with his cousins, a duo of infamous gangsters known as the Smokestack Twins; Michael B. Jordan pulling double duty as the brothers, one named Smoke, the other Stack. Distinctive by their chosen colours (blue and red), the two have barreled into town with the promise of good fortune to their fellow brethren by purchasing an old sawmill and converting it to a juke joint; set to serve as a rare communal space for the African American communities living in this time.
Jordan is as magnetic as you expect, and whilst his twins are the essential focus of Coogler’s deep, terrifying feature, they momentarily take a backseat to Sammie’s journey; with the young lad serving as the audience’s view into this world. There’s a naivety to Sammie, and it’s his navigation of liquor, gangsters, music and carnal desire that widen his gaze on the environment Coogler has so intricately created.
For about half of Sinners‘ 137 minutes, it’s a mostly straight-played period piece, with the main motivation behind its plotting centering around the opening of the brothers’ establishment. Delroy Lindo, as Delta Slim, a charming blues musician, provides amusing relief to lighten proceedings, and the introduction of Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) and Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) allows the film a much needed air of, at once, femininity and eroticism. It’s all so deliberate on Coogler’s part to let these characters teeter around the built world here, expanding upon the land and letting us warm to a community of outcasts who are all wrapped together under the umbrella of the twins.
Deliberate it may be in its pacing, and as much as it eventually turns into a bloody beast of a vampiric horror movie, Coogler is never taking any of its action lightly. Through torn flesh and rigorous sex, Sinners reflects on marginalised communities, white supremacy, and the ritualistic nature of music; one particular sequence – possibly the film’s finest – celebrates the crossing of time and space regarding music and how it connects people on a universal level.
The arrival of Remmick (Jack O’Connell, deliriously enjoying himself) puts the wheels in motion for Sinners to embrace its more supernatural inclinations, as his vampiric leader slinks onto the doorstep of the juke joint, asking kindly to be let in; Coogler pays respect to vampire lore regarding their need for an invitation, which itself extends to a series of tense conversations when certain characters’ vampire fates aren’t known to all. There’s almost a violent shift in how the film presents its two halves, but they never feel at odds with one another; it feels practically deliberate to lace the back-end with such carnage in order for us to feel even more passionate about these characters we’ve grown to love in such a short period of time.
The freedom in which Coogler is expressing himself can truly be felt across every frame of Sinners. From the pitch-perfect cast ensemble, to the keen eye of his DoP, Autumn Durald Arkapaw – who seems to enhance the immigrant experience, however subtle, with a heft of white background characters left unfocused – right through to the rousing soundtrack, there’s a boldness in how he’s addressing politics and the parasitic nature between races, whilst flexing the growth of his own technique as an artist unmatched in his allegorical vision.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Sinners is screening in Australian theatres from April 17th, 2025. It will open in theatres in the United States on April 18th.
