Review of Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan and seen at The Light, Wisbech
Film review: Sinners (15) - seen at The Light, Wisbech
Starring: Michael B. Jordan,
Director: Ryan Coogler, Jayme Lawson, Tenaj L. Jackson, Miles Caton and Saul Williams Run time: Two hours, 17 minutes
Every time a film is rebooted or a franchise puts out yet another cash cow movie, I bemoan the lack of imagination in the industry.
So I was delighted to see Ryan Coogler take a new approach to the tried and tested vampire genre in this movie, which he wrote and directed.
Sinners is much more than just a supernatural, bloody thriller. Its undertones address racism and oppression in the early 20th Century - both of black Americans and the Irish from the UK Government.
Set in 1920s Mississippi at the height of the Klu Klux Klan's terrorising and inhuman reign, Michael B. Jordan plays twin African American brothers Smoke and Stack.
And straight away, we are shown how far film technology has progressed, with both brothers in full shot as they share a cigarette, passing it in between them.
Jordan plays his dual role wonderfully well and there are there are wonderful performances from the rest of the mostly black cast, especially Jayme Lawson as the promiscuous Pearline and Miles Caton as blues prodigy Sammie Moore.
At more than two hours and set to a background of wonderful blues music, it's beautifully paced and we get to know the characters well, as small-time crooks Smoke and Stack come back to their home town after years in Chicago to open a blues bar with their ill-gotten gains.
So we are totally invested in the brothers, their nephew, their friends and their lovers when vampiric hell breaks out at the club.
Although the ending is somewhat tragic, there are small wins for the main characters too, again perhaps reflecting the history of racial oppression.
And spare a thought for the couple behind me and my son… they left as the credits started rolling and missed an unexpected and poignant flashforward.
By Jeremy Ransome
Rating: 9/10
