I missed the opportunity to go to the screener of Sinners in April, and with “Maycember” being a real thing, Sinners fell off my radar for a bit. I need to watch as many films as possible since I’m a member of Nashville’s film critics association, and was happy to see two recent box office films available for streaming. Today, I’m discussing Sinners, available to stream on HBO Max. Did I think it was a good date night option? I’ll let you know and try not to add any spoilers.
Evil Is Waiting!
Distributed by: Warner Bros.Proximity Media Production./Directed by: Ryan Coogler /Produced by: Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler /Run Time:2 hours,17 mins./Genre: Horror/Rated: R
Cast: Michael B. Jordan in dual role as Stack & Smoke Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller
Film Synopsis from Warner Bros.
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers, played by Jordan, return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Set in 1932, in a small Mississippi Delta town called Clarksdale, the young men return home to set up a Juke Joint, but soon learn that if “You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
My Thoughts:
I had heard high praise for this film from film critics who got to see this film before its release in April. I also heard a great deal of chatter about it from friends and family, so I was so excited to finally get to watch it with my husband. Let me be clear upfront - with all the hype, I was expecting more. More of what you may ask? I’ll tell you.
More Horror. If you are going to classify a film as horror, then you’ll have to go beyond suspenseful in my book. Sure, there were a couple of tense moments, and blood and gore. But was I ever scared? No.
More Character Development: I liked the core characters well enough, and I understood how they all ended up together on that fateful October night in 1932. I just felt the emotional connection was missing once you went beyond the twins and Sammie.
More back story on the Antagonist- Irish vampire Remmick: I’m all for subtly and letting a story build, something that Sinners excels at, but I would have loved to learn more about this head vampire who is drawn to Sammie’s talent. Since this is set in a tumultuous time in black and white history, why did Remmick show up then and there? Did he live there before becoming a vampire? How did he become alone and searching for a new family?
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| Courtesy: Warner Bros. Media |
Sinners Got Many Things Right:
- The sets were amazing and made you feel you were in Mississippi in 1932.
- You could feel the tensions between blacks and whites without it being the main storyline.
- The music was a constant heartbeat in this film. Whether a haunting backbeat, or the full scene, Sinners wouldn’t be so good if not for the music.
- The costume design team did a fine job outfitting everyone in period attire.
- The acting was solid. Each performance was well done. I believed each character, and yet, I didn’t form a strong enough emotional connection with some of them to really feel sad at their plight.
- The beginning and the ending can’t be missed!
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| Courtesy:Warner Bros. Media The Takeaway: Sinners is a solid, suspenseful film that was a good date night option, but I really don’t understand the raving, glowing reviews. I felt there was so much more that should have been addressed in this 2 + hour film. Perhaps there’s going to be a sequel, or a jump off story that ties up some loose ends? If you haven’t watched it yet but want to draw your conclusions, stream it on HBO Max and come back here to let me know your thoughts. And if you enjoy film reviews, I’ve got plenty here on the blog! Just use the Entertainment tab.
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