FILM REVIEW – Sinners Starring Michael B. Jordan

Hell Yeah

“Why don’t movies feel like movies anymore?” A random comment on a random video from a random day years ago still sticks with me. First off, what did they mean? When you are watching a movie, you are literally watching, uh, a movie. Thinking of it more, it is probably not that simple. Picture the moment in E.T. when the kids and lovable alien soar across the sky towards “home”. You can almost feel the music swelling and the wind in your hair through your thoughts. It is when film artistry transcends the mainstream consciousness to form a bond that is so unique to American cinema. Within the first 10 minutes of Sinners, that feeling came back and it stayed. It felt good.

Director Ryan Coogler has once again revitalized a genre. He first did it with Creed and the sports drama. Then he helped Marvel define a new hero in Black Panther. Now he and Michael B. Jordan have shaken up a new world. A world that I will not spoil as part of the fun is in the discovery. A full exposition that pays off so well in the end. With this being a “genre” film, some parts are a little out there, but the foundation is so strong that only people trying to nitpick will find fault. Their loss!

Michael B. Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack, two hustlers back from Chicago to open a joint amongst their plantation home. A club where those who do not feel like they have a place in the world can be free. Music swinging, drinks flowing and money pumping. They enlist the help of their cousin Sammie (a vital Miles Canton) to get everyone in town on board and in the loop. This exposition allows us to meet characters like Annie (Wunmi Wosaku), Delta Slim (standout veteran actor Delroy Lindo), Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), and Mary (a fantastic Hailee Steinfeld). The cast of characters are so strong and we start to feel every relationship develop in three dimensions (no small feat in the cinema these days).

Then night falls, and creatures bump into the night. I will stop there, but the action is just getting started. With music from Ludwig Göransson and exquisite cinematography from Autumn Durald Arkapaw, this story about music comes to absolute life. Set in 1932, the Blues is in its prime. Themes of race and music that stands against time, along with the freedom it brings to those who need it the most course through the entire film like the Mighty Mississippi. Even when the film directs itself into more playful and silly territories, the silent beat of its heart keeps it on its thematic feet.

Some may find the beginning slow. Where is the action? The action cannot happen like it does without the beginning. I love superhero movies. I can also recognize that its consistent use of action in every single beginning has made general audiences forget that action can have some sort of meaning. When Woody and Buzz fly to “infinity and beyond”, we are swept away because of the writing of their relationship. It helps create those moments that make movies “movies”.

Ryan Coogler knows what he is doing. A little Scorsese, Spielberg, Lee, Gerwig, Nolan all wrapped into one. In other words, Coogler has made a name for himself. What a treat to find ourselves in the midst of a Great Director marking his legacy before our eyes. I hope that random online commenter feels the same.