Sinners

In 1930s America, a couple of gangster brothers (both Michael B. Jordan) try to escape their dodgy dealings by coming home to the Mississippi delta and opening a juke joint. Unfortunately as they open for business they realise that a greater evil lies in the shadows right on their doorstep.

This is an absolute explosion of music and history that is so much more than just the vampire horror movie it seems to be. It’s such a vibrant collection of so many great ideas, almost to the point of being over-stuffed but somehow Coogler gets away with it.

The screenplay is this potent mix of allegory but also straightforwardness that entertains in the moment and stays in your mind on the way home. It’s both an insightful and novel commentary on the black experience and a wildly entertaining film.

I would urge you to see this in the cinema if you can because so much of what Sinners is selling is just exquisite sound and set design that is crying out for big speakers and a big screen. You feel the music right in your soul, and it would be a shame to lose even an ounce of that effect by watching it at home.

I wonder how well it all might hang together on second viewing, but right now we’re all high off watching Sinners and it’s hard to think of a bad thing to say about it.