Michael B. Jordan does double duty, playing twin brothers in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The two have grown up on the mean streets of the Deep South and during the early thirties, those were mean streets indeed for people of colour. They are flush with cash from a shady deal and hit town to set up a juke joint that caters to the local cotton-picking population.
They tap into their friend’s system and pull people from the local town to help with the various jobs to get the joint off the ground. There is a real sense of camaraderie among the crew but there is also no doubt the twins are fully in charge. They also enlist the help of Sammie (Miles Caton) the son of a preacher man who plays a mean blues guitar.
The film is shot with atmospherics at the forefront and the colours are warm and saturated. Music plays an important part as well and it is earthy and authentic. There is also a surrealistic edge to it and this includes a few jarring moments where the time frame seems to be very elastic. It plays fast and loose with the real world.
Once the opening night of the juke joint is underway the film transforms into a mix of social commentary and horror-driven peril. This includes the supernatural and legions of the undead. At times the film loses focus and the actor’s dialogue is a bit hard to understand. This leads to a feeling that the work is not completely hitting the mark but miraculously there is a coda that runs during the credits that does a great job of pulling it all together.
Rob Hudson
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