[Review] Sinners: Before Sunset (IMAX 70mm Version)
When director Ryan Coogler is mentioned, most people immediately think of his last two Marvel films: Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In recent years, Marvel has been tirelessly trying to develop Blade, centered on the Black vampire hunter, but has struggled to find a suitable script, leaving the project stalled. While Blade faced continuous delays, Ryan Coogler directed Sinners, an original film for Warner Bros. that also features Black characters and vampires. It has garnered excellent reviews and stands as one of the highest-grossing films of the year so far.
Ryan Coogler's past films have consistently explored themes of race, culture, and identity. Even within the superhero genre of Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he created distinctive and memorable tribal cultures, legends, and traditions for the Wakandan and Talokan peoples. Sinners is no exception. While superficially about vampires, it delves deeply into blues music and the complexities of Black identity and cultural integration. The first forty minutes of the film primarily detail how the two protagonists, Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan), establish a Black party venue—from acquiring a sawmill to preparing food and finding musicians. This initial segment plays out like a drama, seemingly unrelated to vampires or horror. These scenes move at a brisk pace, clearly establishing each character's background and personality. Coupled with Ludwig Göransson's guitar and harmonica-centric score, tinged with a country music feel, audiences are easily drawn into the characters and the era. Smoke and Stack return to their hometown, reuniting with old friends and lovers, engaging in conversations filled with humor and tender moments of reconnection. As a film centered on Black characters in the 1930s, it also touches upon racial themes. A particular conversation between Stack, Sammie (Miles Caton), and Slim (Delroy Lindo) discusses the systemic racial issues of that era, with simulated background dialogue immersing the viewer as if they were truly present.
As the characters gather, preparing the party venue, the vampires finally appear. The desperate screams of the first victims, set against the backdrop of a beautiful moon, seem to signal the arrival of night and the film's horror elements. However, the movie doesn't immediately transform into a vampire film. Instead, it delivers a truly impactful sequence. The film's opening already establishes that Black music possesses magic, capable of attracting souls from the past and future. At the party, Sammie performs a song on his guitar, and this performance is captivating in itself. The film then intercuts to a conversation between Sammie and Slim, emphasizing that blues music was not imposed upon them by other ethnicities or cultures; it was something Black people brought from their homeland, a sacred magic. The scene then cuts back to Sammie's performance, but now, surrounding him are not just his friends, but musicians from different eras playing various styles of Black music, and even dancers from different cultures. The director uses a long take to present this scene, enhanced by the expanded IMAX imagery, allowing the audience to witness the gradual emergence of supernatural elements from an ordinary musical performance. This isn't just the magic described in the plot; it's the magic of filmmaking itself. It's one of the most brilliant and audacious sequences I've seen in recent years.
From this scene onwards, the film formally enters its horror phase. Sammie's music not only draws a multitude of souls from different times but also three vampires. These vampires, too, are musicians, but they play Irish folk music, not blues. In their first encounter with the protagonists, they perform the folk song "Pick Poor Robin Clean." This scene is intriguing while also highlighting the stark contrast between their music and the blues music at the party, directly showcasing the cultural differences and conflicts between the Black and white groups. Later, as the three vampires converse with Stack's ex-lover, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), they sing the Scottish/Irish folk song "Will Ye Go, Lassie Go?" At this point, another of their characteristics becomes apparent: they seem to share a collective consciousness, habitually repeating each other's words. Subsequently, the vampire faction grows, and the protagonists, having lost loved ones, find themselves isolated and helpless. The vampires outside sing the Irish folk song "Rocky Road to Dublin." This IMAX scene, showing the vampires with eerie glowing eyes in the darkness, singing folk songs and performing traditional dances, exudes a sinister aura.
The director attempts to frame the latter half of the film as a thriller/horror movie, depicting the protagonists surrounded by a large group of vampires, forced to remain indoors. Vampires, unless invited, cannot enter indoor spaces but can still threaten the protagonists' loved ones elsewhere. I quite appreciated the film's depiction of vampires, particularly how it stays faithful to classic literary and cinematic portrayals regarding garlic, stakes, and silver. However, I found the climax in the final act somewhat anticlimactic; the vampires didn't feel sufficiently terrifying, and the protagonists' easy defeat of a large horde of them left the ending feeling a bit rushed. The film concludes with the line, "Before sunset, I felt that day was the best day of my life." The portion of the film depicting the time before sunset is indeed the strongest part of the movie. When the film shifts its focus solely to the protagonists fighting vampires, its pacing begins to falter slightly.
Beyond its musical theme, the film's score is outstanding, transitioning from the initial country influences to gentle melodies in the middle, and finally to enchanting and terrifying music in the latter stages. Ludwig Göransson's score elevates the story to another level. Michael B. Jordan has appeared in every one of Coogler's previous films. Here, he plays two distinct roles: the more lighthearted Stack and the more serious Smoke, with the differences between the two clearly evident. In the latter half of the film, as Smoke experiences profound loss, Michael B. Jordan delivers a moving portrayal of his trauma. Delroy Lindo's performance is equally captivating; his initial scene at the train station alone makes him one of the film's most memorable characters.
Having directed two Black Panther films, Coogler emulated Marvel by including a post-credits scene. However, this scene isn't for setting up a sequel; instead, through a monologue, it brings greater completeness to the film's characters, story, and themes. As mentioned, a significant portion of the film addresses the systemic racial issues of that era. However, the film speaks not only of racial discrimination and inequality but also of Black identity and cultural integration. Stack's monologue in the post-credits scene suggests that the night before becoming a vampire was the last time he felt truly free. Throughout the film, the vampires repeatedly persuade the protagonists to join them, to become vampires and live in an inclusive, harmonious community, free from pain. Yet, upon becoming vampires, their consciousness seems to merge, leading to a loss of self. The film consistently emphasizes that blues music is a unique Black cultural form. The process of becoming a vampire in the film appears to symbolize how, in order to integrate into mainstream American culture, Black people might abandon their unique culture and values, causing their music and culture to become homogenized with the mainstream, constrained by the market, and losing true creative freedom. Fortunately, through his work, director Ryan Coogler reminds us that even when making films for major studios, his works retain his unique culture and values.
Trailer:
Synopsis:
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
Photo and Source: Warner Bros. Pictures