Sinnerma

The later trailers for Sinners give away a major plot point that will be discussed in this review. It isn't a spoiler as such, since its integral to the nature of the film and its hard to see how the movie could have been advertised without showing it, but if you haven't seen the marketing, simply go and watch this astonishing work of film making and come back later. If you've already seen it, or know what kind of film it is, read on. 

To date, director Ryan Coogler's big screen credits are; true story "Fruitvale Station", Rocky franchise sequel "Creed" and two MCU movies ("Black Panther" and its sequel). If you've marvelled at how he has managed to infuse those franchise movies with both deeply personal meaning and wide cultural themes, and wondered what he could achieve with a project that is purely his own, then Sinners is your answer and it is glorious. In a rare studio win, Warner Brothers deserve credit for funding a wholly original R-rated movie to the tune of close to $100 million and Coogler has repaid them handsomely.This is a pristinely shot period piece set in the 1930s Jim Crow South. It is an ode to music and culture and the power and danger of both. It is one of the great vampire movies. 

Micheal B.Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, returning after a seven year absence to their hometown. A place in which  they had a fearsome reputation even before they went and fought in WWI and became gangsters in Chicago. Flush with cash they are looking to set up a "Juke Joint" for people to drink, gamble, dance and party the night away, safe from the racist attentions of local landowners and a very much still active KKK. The first portion of the film plays out like a heist movie, as the twins set up shop and get the gang together. We meet Preacher Boy (an incredible debut film performance from Mile Canton), the twins young cousin with the voice and musical talent of a veteran blues singer, Annie (Wunmi Mosaic), Smoke's estranged wife who he shared a child with, shop owners and business people the Chows (Li Jun Li and Yao), Omar Benson Miller as Cornbread, the bouncer, Stack's former flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), sultry singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson) and veteran blues man Delta Simm (a scene stealing Delroy Lindo). Every cast member is top notch and Jordan pulling double duty is somehow not distracting at all. Very little is done to make the twins look visually different but there is no point where it isn't obvious who is who. We see the difference in their opinion on family and business, how they perceive and wish to be perceived, but also that they are two sides of the same coin, charming and magnanimous but ready to kill at a moments notice if necessary. 

We are deep into the runtime before Vampires raises their head, but when they do, Sinners does become a vampire movie, just one where the temptation has a little more meaning and we feel the deaths a little more.  This isn't a prestige film half heartedly using the metaphorical idea of vampirism to make a point, these are full throated, sharp toothed, flying, garlic and sun light hating, invite us in, bloodsuckers. We are told at the beginning of the film that musical genius is close to the Devine, able to connect people across generations stretching through history and into the future (this is shown visually in one of the most unforgettable scenes put to film in recent years, you'll know it when you see it). We are also told such talent calls out to the evil that lurks in shadows of the world. When the party picks up pace, loud sweaty and sexy (intimacy is a recurring theme) and Preacher Boy is in full voice, he attracts the attention of Jack O'Connell's softly spoken vampire, Remmick. He is a very Celtic kind of devil, charming with the folk songs of his ancestors, dancing jigs and tempting with gold. It is no coincidence the protagonists are menaced by a vampire, that most European of nasties, as Remmick is the walking embodiment of colonialism. For all his talk of togetherness he is really seeking to consume the culture of others for his own ends. If there is one criticism to be made, it would be that things start to feel a little contrived come the final showdown but if you're going to bring vamps to the party you may as well play the hits.

The film is dense in metaphor and incredibly textured with sound and song woven throughout more crucially than in most musicals. It is both the central theme of the movie and the gloss that gives it its stylistic identity, with the combination of blues and folk combining for a belting soundtrack. Beyond the songs, the score and sound design work in tandem to control the mood. Effects, music keys and silence are used to create bombastic and eerie moments. It is also a film that, for all the darkness, isn't afraid to have fun, with entertaining banter and jokes breaking the tension and homage paid to some genre classics. We even get a riff on the classic "which of us is it" scene from The Thing.

Sinners is both a soaring period piece and a searing genre movie. It is also a film that will gnaw its way into your soul. Essential viewing that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen with the most thumping speakers.

9 people waiting on the other side out of 10.