[MILD SPOILERS]
In 1932 Mississippi, Sammie (Miles Caton) is a likeable young Black musician, nicknamed “Preacher Boy” because his protective father Jedidiah (Saul Williams) is the pastor of the town’s very small Black church. Sammie and his father review the scriptures (which Sammie knows perfectly) for the next day’s church service but Sammie is anxious to get into town where he meets up with his older cousins, Elijah and Elias, nicknamed Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan in a dual role). Smoke and Stack are back in town after an adventurous stay in Chicago. Sammie is starstruck about their time in Chicago versus their country town, but Smoke confirms that Chicago is just as racist and dangerous as Mississippi, and the twins would rather deal with the devil they know in their hometown. Smoke and Stack decide to build a juke joint on the edge of town so the Black residents can have a place to enjoy themselves in peace. They buy a slaughterhouse from a smooth-talking racist but are determined to open the place that same night. In a cleverly filmed sequence of scenes, the twins encounter and gather various characters needed to help open the place on short notice. In the process, we learn the backstory of each character, including old musician, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) who is hesitant to join them because he thinks a Black business won’t survive. In a hypnotic scene, Slim tells a horrific tale of exploitation and cruelty while sounds from his memories float around him. We also meet smart-mouthed Cornbread (Omar Miller), who works as a field laborer. Two of the stores in town are run by Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) and her husband Bo (Yao), so Smoke hires them to provide supplies for the new place. Stack gifts Sammie a guitar, and Stack and Delta Slim are both amazed when they hear the stunning way Sammie plays and sings. They also encounter another singer Perline (Jayme Lawson), with whom Sammie is infatuated although she is married. Stack runs into his demanding ex-girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfield) who is white but has some Black ancestry and feels close to the town’s Black community. Meanwhile, Smoke asks his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) to help with the cooking at the new place. Annie understands the supernatural and uses her knowledge to create protection for the twins and she and Smoke revisit their grief over the loss of their baby daughter. But things take a turn when an ancient Irish vampire, Remmick (Jack O’Connell), arrives, fleeing a trio of sharp-eyed Choctaw vampire hunters. Remmick senses the magical power of Sammie’s talent and targets Smoke and Stack’s place. As the evening becomes more dangerous we see how each of the main characters responds to the arrival of a new kind of oppression.
Michael B. Jordan is intriguing in his dual roles as Smoke and Stack, and the entire cast delivers compelling performances. Sinners is not a perfect story and, at times, characters make confusing choices that seem inconsistent with who they are. But it is a powerful example of unique filmmaking that blends horror, history, and magical realism with meaningful social commentary. There are so many thematic elements and symbolic components that viewers may need to see the film several times to catch everything. From a blues jam across the centuries to reciting the Lord’s Prayer while fending off a vampire attack, the film literally gives you a little bit of everything. A few themes particularly stood out.
Family Relationships
Although the brothers have similar mannerisms, Smoke is more pragmatic and grounded. He is concerned about achieving success through money and power; he is closely acquainted with grief through the loss of his daughter; and he understands true sacrificial love through his connection to Annie. Stack is more lighthearted, reckless, and more compassionate to those who can’t pay the full price. Despite their differences, Smoke and Stack are intensely loyal to each other and they are both protective of Sammie. In a brief but crucial scene, Stack talks about his violent father and asks Sammie about his relationship with Jedidiah, but Sammie confirms his father does not abuse him. We also see a playful scene between Sammie and his mother as they begin the day. Despite his giftedness, both Sammie’s father Jedidiah and his cousin Stack warn Sammie not to pursue life as a blues musician. Jedidiah warns that if you dance with evil, one day it will follow you home. Stack orders Sammie to find a respectable community to settle in and leave the dangerous living to sinners like him and Smoke.
Economics as Power
The field workers are paid with wooden tokens which can only be used at the general store. When some of the juke joints customers pay with the wooden tokens, there is a difficult conversation between Smoke who wants real money as payment and Stack who wants to let people have fun and Annie who wants to show compassion for the plight of the exploited Black workers. Despite Stack and Annie’s desire for flexibility, Smoke knows the lack of money is unsustainable and he understands that the larger problem is the manipulative payment which is designed to indenture Black workers and hurt Black businesses. Similarly, in an earlier scene, Smoke takes a moment to teach a young girl how to negotiate a proper salary.
Literary Symbolism
The film is filled with archetypal characters and symbolic places: the complementary brothers, the reliable, spiritually attune wife; the angry, selfish girlfriend, the adulterous wife, the wise mentor musician who has seen suffering, and Sammie, the gifted chosen one, who turns out to be the true center of the story. Racist salesman Hogwood (David Maldonado) and slick-talking vampire Remmick are parallel characters, artificially polite, manipulative, and lethal. The juke joint becomes a rebellious center of culture built in a slaughterhouse where the blood has been scrubbed away but the memory of death remains imbedded. In key scenes the doors of the slaughterhouse/juke joint are compared to the doors of the church. Remmick wants to take Sammie’s talent, noting that he once had his land stolen from him. Remmick uses truth mixed with lies to seduce his victims. Sinners has two post-credit scenes and begins and ends with a specific song of encouragement. The music in the film is stunning, and each performance tells its own story. The title of the film gives us a layered meaning of “sinners” as rebellious, independent, broken, cruel, conquering, fearful, and universally all of us who must live with real-life horrors that rival the symbolic horror of the murderous vampires.
Taking Risks
A core theme of the story is whether to be bold with your talents or whether to play it safe. That answer may seem simple, but Sinners reminds us that those who are talented become targets for aggression and exploitation. Ultimately, the message of Sinners is finding a path between the extremes of devastation or the safety of hiding. Sinners has echoes of the “Parable of the Talents” where rewards are given to those who take risks with the gifts they are given. It’s a hard lesson for those who want to pursue “goodness” by playing it safe.
Of course, there are many other important messages in the film. And there are layers of meaning that make the story more than just another vampire story. Using unusual film techniques, clever storytelling, and heavy symbolism, Sinners gives us a complex tale that will keep viewers talking about it for a long time.
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The Math
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10
Highlights
POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction-writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10
Highlights
- Thoughtful visuals and music
- Traditional vampire violence contrasted with unique symbolism
- Memorable, layered storytelling
POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction-writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.