Sinners Review

As an avid admirer of cinema as a whole, I'm always optimistic about movies being able to reach through and impact me on a different level beyond pure entertainment. Sometimes, you want a deeper movie filled with symbolism and commentary to make it truly groundbreaking. Sinners is that type of movie. It's a movie that has something to say through the lens of so many different cultures. It's a movie that transcends generations of the past, present and future through it's characters, dialogue, and most importantly, it's music! 

Ryan Coogler is such a gifted film maker. He put together something truly remarkable with each scene expanding upon itself allowing the audience to become further immersed in his story and vision, revealing himself as one of the best working in the entertainment industry today. I'd actually consider this Coogler's best work to date, and a lot of it is because the story resonates with him at it's core. You can feel the authenticity in each scene. It makes the movie that much more powerful, because the real allows the fiction to become more palpable for the audience. He creates a movie with complexity, where each character feels like a real person with detailed stories to who they are, how they connect to each other. Coogler also crafts a great story of society as a whole, and through creative ideas borrowed from myths, legends and narratives, what happens when society turns on itself. There's a tremendous symbiosis between the brilliant storytelling and complex storytelling of the characters with a strong supernatural element that only enhances the power of the story. 

When you think of some of the best actors in the industry today, undoubtedly, Michael B. Jordan is going to enter into the discussion. Throught projects like The Wire, Friday Night Lights, Fruitvale Station, Black Panther & Creed, he's shown audiences how incredible he is through his performances. In Sinners, he is absolutely outstanding. Having seen most of his prior work, I would definitely say that his performance here is his absolute best work to date. His performance as both Elijah (Smoke) & Elias (Stacks) displays his dexterity and range as an actor. He shapes twin brothers with two distinct, unique personalities and allows each of their differences to shine brightly in every scene. Watching him weave between the mindsets of these characters is truly remarkable, and allows the story to be more enthralling. Jordan commands the screen in every scene, no matter what brother he is showing his innate ability to connect with the characters he plays, creating something sincere and tangible for the audience to explore. 

Another highlight of the movie is Miles Caton's Sammy. It's astonishing that this is his first big role as his timing and delivery of his dialogue, reactions to events going on around him and his singing voice were all integral pieces of keeping the story flowing, and he was able to navigate it effortlessly. Sammy bridges both pieces of the story in a highly harmonious manner, allowing each character to find out more about who they are at their core, while also providing a soundtrack for the exterior of the community, it's inhabitants and it's infiltrators. Sammy's connection to everybody in this movie is the heart of it's storytelling. Through Sammy's eyes and voice, we're able to see an entire family's genealogical soundtrack, and it's Caton's ability as an actor that allows Sammy's arc to be as effective as it is. 

While there are several great male characters in this, a movie will never be complete without it's female characters, and one of my favorite parts of this movie is Hailee Steinfeld's Mary. Hailee Steinfeld is one of my all time favorite actresses since her exemplary performance as Nadine in Edge of Seventeen. Her Southern accent is on point, her attitude is one of confidence, but deep vulnerability as well in terms of her romantic life, and her connection to Elijah, and more specifically, Elias. Steinfeld's ability to constantly take the context of the scene, turn it upside down and make it even more intriguing is just amazing to watch. She takes command of the emotions of the men around her, and allows them to realize how much she has meant to them in their lives. Mary is what allows us to get a glimpse of who Elijah and Elias were in the past, and how they became the men they are today. Steinfeld's natural beauty, sensational charm and cool charisma carries through the screen in every scene. While she definitely has emotional...and, at some points physical scars, she also provides familial strength to everybody around her, allowing everybody to realize how deep their roots go. In many ways, Mary's story is how we are able to get to the events of this story. It's really impressive to watch how everything connects so expertly. It's been a while since I had seen Hailee Steinfeld in an acting project, but seeing her in Sinners reminded me just how wonderful she is as an actress! She came into this movie, and really shaped Mary into one of the most outstanding parts of the movie.

One more performance that needs to be highlighted lies in it's antagonist, Reddick. I have been a fan of Jack O'Connell's work since he was Cook in Skins. He's usually a complex character in his roles, usually leaning towards the antagonist side. His performance here as Reddick is bloody brilliant. Yes, I went for a pun there, and it might be cheesy, but it works. He serves as the principal antagonist, but, I have to be honest here, there are things about Reddick that I like. I don't think he's evil at his core. I do think he has maintained a shred of his humanity, and it does come out from time to time. While he's a vampire, you also have to remember through the lore of the vampire mythos that somebody forced him to be that way. While he definitely takes away people's freedom and lives from them, his idea of camaraderie and harmony as a united people is something that you can support. It's just unfortunate that the only way he can make that happen is to transform you. O'Connell's Reddick presents that deep hurt and longing for companionship and love, but he's going about it in a violent and vindictive manner that makes the audience dislike him. You're supposed to root against him, and O'Connell's natural ability to gravitate towards the villainous side works marvelously when it has to. I do like the way he connects to characters around him, especially Mary, but he also finds ways to try and help Elijah and Elias as well. Honestly, I get if you hate Reddick, but, I also think he might be the most complex character of the movie, because, despite his vampire exterior, his twisted way of creating a new society has good intentions at it's core. O'Connell's performance is electrifying as Reddick, especially when he's presenting the nefarious side of his personality, but he's also adept at portraying Reddick battling his inner demons to connect to others around him. 

Music is the pulse of this movie. Each scene is defined by the mood and rhythm of the notes. The variety of genres present in this movie speaks to past, present and future generations. Whether it's blues, Irish folk music, jazz, etc. everything moves to the beat of the time period and it's characters. Ludwig Goransson's score is one of the very best you'll find. The score moves with the characters selling the emotion of the scenes. The strength of the orchestral arrangement makes the scenes more effective. I've always felt music is such an important part of movies, but, in Sinners Goransson proves that music really can create the rawest of emotion for the audience. We feel everything they feel. The connection from the first act to the second act is amazing. This effortless divide between smooth jazz to almost a hard rock motif perfectly embellishes upon the visuals. The characters move with the music as well, perfectly selling each note of what they're listening to. There's a great scene representing music throughout generations where you're watching everything going on, but also absorbing the power of the notes and it's such an ethereal experience. Selling the emotion of the supernatural, vampiric aspects of the movie through the harder hitting notes is great as well. Without question, Sinners has one of the best soundtracks of all time. Everything about it matters, and everything about it adds more complexity to the story, and, in actuality presents a clear, concise view of every aspect of Coogler's characters.

Through Ryan Coogler's impressive vision, one of the best ensemble casts I've seen in a long time helmed by Michael B. Jordan's stellar performance, dynamic, complex storytelling, incredible use of music (which can't be stressed enough), visuals (especially in terms of color dynamics, namely the dichotomy between light and dark, as well as spectrum choices for individual characters) and two distinct acts that bridge together brilliantly, Sinners delivers on all fronts as the best movie of 2025 so far for it's unique presentation and ability to connect with it's audience in an authentic manner.