Last week, Matthew and I went to see Ryan Coogler’s Sinners at the cinema. I’d heard good things through social media and the press that made me interested to see it. Caveat. I don’t do horror and this one verged on horror in parts.
At the end of this movie, I was impressed. I thought this is effing genius, this was magnificent and wow hard hitting too. Michael B Jordan was very impressive. He was great in Black Panther but here he is playing twins Smoke and Stack. Miles Caton who played Sammie had an amazing speaking voice, looked so young and his voice was so deep and his singing? Wow.
I will try not to give spoliers but it’s hard. Also I never heard of the word Hanked before. So clever though.
This is a story primarily about black lives, poor lives in the south of the USA. It doesn’t dwell on the misery but uses it to paint a picture that is bleak and also beautiful as people live and love and survive there. The KKK are mentioned like pepper in the stew, the lingering threat, the nail in the coffin at the end. There are other people of colour featured. Chinese immigrants, Chaktaw natives, and even Irish who had been downtrodden in their homeland and came to the Americas for a better life. They also came here to Australia and I am a descendent of a number of them.
There is folklore here, real or not, I cannot say, but it is woven into the fabric of the story and the music which is at its heart. Sammie’s music draws in demons and spirits and there is one scene that showed this and it wasn’t time limited. There were ghosts of the past as well as the future. At times, the visual elements could be overwhelming and a little incoherent but then there was a coherency to that. It is a movie that will need to be watched again to pick up the bits I missed.
The way music is used in this film in innovative and compelling. From the boy, Sammie who just wants to play, to those who want to listen and sing, to the bad guys and their music, their lure if you get my drift.
Genius and a must see.
What amazes me is that Ryan Coogler wrote this and directed it. The cast was so good. Every single one nailed it. What an amazing feast for the eyes, the ears and the heart.
Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing 