In the past, Ryan Coogler has brought us some of the best features in the world of cinema. With each film, there’s always been a story worth telling. From Fruitvale Station to Black Panther, each character has had a pretty remarkable story arc leading them to learn something about themselves, which in turn makes the audience learn something about themselves. The movie Sinners is no different, but that being said, it is a very unique movie in its own right.
Plot of the Sinners
Sinners is a period piece horror movie that focuses on a boy named Sammie Moore, aka “Preacher Boy”, who has a love for the blues and gets a chance to perform when his two cousins from Chicago come back into town to open their own club. Things start looking up for the boys until Sammie’s performance summons something evil to the club. Now, everyone must survive the night from the forces of darkness that want what they have, and that being their souls, knowledge, and music.
A Sinful Cast to Praise
The cast of Sinners is probably some of the best actors that Ryan Coogler could put together. Of course, Michael B. Jordan stands out in his dual role as Stacks and Smoke, two brothers and WW1 veterans who have a dream of Jukebar in the 1930s in Louisiana, but have done some pretty despicable things to get where they’re at. The way Stacks and Smoke carry each other in the movie is pretty inspiring. Both brothers lean on each other and have each other’s backs, even though they are opposites of each other. Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Mary and love interest to Stacks, does a good job as a woman who wants to be with Stacks through thick and thin.
Wunmi Mosaku, who plays Annie, Smoke’s former lover and a woman of mystics, is a force of nature to behold as she is kind of our introduction to the world of demons. The one person to really stand out in this movie is Miles Caton, who plays Sammie. Both the weight of what his character has to carry and the choices he has to make in order to survive are heavy. The same goes for the rest of the cast, who are all on top of their game in this movie.
Music of Saints and Devils
The Music is a part of the story itself. Sinners honors music from not just black history, but history itself, with representation from many different cultures. The one scene you see with each genre will leave you in awe of how music is represented throughout time. If you think they honor only music from the past, then you are wrong, as you see music from the present represented. Caton breaks out big time in this musical scene with his strong vocals and guitar playing. You can tell he has trained to play this part if he wasn’t trained previously.
Formatting of Sins
The format of Sinners is also unique, mostly because it was shot in Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX. To compare the two, UP 70 is in a 2.76:1 format, while IMAX is in a 1.43:1 format. This will give viewers at least five different choices when it comes to viewing formats. I highly recommend viewing in IMAX to get a full feel of the film itself. The score of the movie is done by Ludwig Göransson, who has scored projects such as the Black Panther films, Creed 2, and Oppenheimer, with the soundtrack set to be released on April 18th, 2025. The soundtrack features Hailee Steinfeld, Rod Wave, Miles Caton, Buddy Guy, and more.
Is it Worth Watching?
Overall, I enjoyed watching Sinners, with so many different things going for it. The horror of the film was good, a gory mess you’d love to love. Relationships are tested with everyone within the cast, down to the setting of Louisiana in the 1930s. Make sure when you see this film, you stick around for a mid-credit scene that doesn’t necessarily set up a second movie but could give you hope for a new one.
Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Omar Benson Miller, Jack O’Connell, Li Jun Li, Jayme Lawson, Lola Kirke, and is directed by Ryan Coogler.
