Sinners take the beautiful bravado of Wakanda of Black Panther to a more alluring terrain. Wakanda, for all its symbolism and resonating references, is still an imaginary construct, a contraption that has to land with multitude of parts in full sychronization. Sinners, on the other hand, draws its excesses and bravado from flash and blood and pulsating reality of a certain time, geography and people. The excesses and connections with myths, archetypes and racial memories chime much more powerfully here than they did in Wakanda. Poetry is said to be an art of sweet excesses and Sinners sure is poetry on celluloid.
Ryan Coogler, the director, draws out the pride, beauty and rhythm of a people in their full primal glory. Every ancient culture, especially the one with a history of persecution, desires to present its story and high points to the world. This desire is a strange mixture of pride, history, knowledge and need for validation and recognition. Good thing about Coogler’s enterprise is that while it is celebratory and displays a bit of bravado but is totally devoid of bitterness, an absence which gives the whole story a glorious texture. He doesn't dwell on victimhood and goes for pride and grandeur. Physical beauty of the people, rooted and ancient robustness of the african culture, spiritual depth, values of parenting, good behaviour, fair play and, above all, an uninhibited joy of living shorn of timidities that prevail in many other cultures, shine through.
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In Sinners, these excesses are dealt with a sure hand and they are underlined by the joys of music, friendship, camaraderie, dance or simply raw sex. Coogler’s command over his medium creates great moments - that transcendent scene at the club where the musical souls of the past present and even future descend in a magnificent irruption of ecstasy and lyricism. Conjuring a convincing trail of unadulterated joy for this duration is surprisingly rare and Coogler rode the wave to a climactic end. Similarly, strong characters, especially female characters (Annie, Grace Chow, Pearline). These women are commanding, caring and fully capable of deepest possible joy and sacrifice. Owner and driver of their destiny.
When pride of identity becomes so central, a small quibble may appear and the Coogler/Michael B Jordan world is not totally untouched by that. For example, when slant is so strongly on the physical beauty of a proud race,there can be an exaggerated focus on perfect specimens who can illustrate the ‘pure’ notion of the race. Almost every character of Wakanda was a nod to the noble warrior clans of Africa. Accent and speech pattern also tilt towards a rather strict notion of exclusivity. Yes, I understand it is a minor quibble but it is there. When this happens, a ‘beauty myth’ is perpetuated which may lead to a restrictive identity by over emphasis on the uniqueness. Whether it is Sanjay Leela Bhansali portraying Gujarati Swag in Goliyon ki Raas Leela or Rajput films of yore or portrayal of Delhi, Lucknow nawab or Bihar of wasseypur, etc an emphasis on ‘authenticity’ always sports looming danger of caricature or exclusionary uniqueness.
Sinners has a lilting momentum of great storytelling. The first half, where everyone prepares for the D-Day is breezy, hits the right expository points, establishes characters and never fails to entertain. Sequences (that life blood of a well woven story) are perfectly paced, featuring unobtrusive tricks (daughter of the chinese grocer crossing the road to call her mother), scenes of crescendo of liberation and eroticism, establishment of the dynamics between the twins by perfectly balanced shots. Rhythm and lyricism of music is matched in tonality by camera movements, lighting and performance. The music claims to break the curtain between the worlds and delivers on the promise. This all is made believable by music moving in conjunction with fluidity of camera movement, languid pace of cutting framing the bodies heavy with desire and atmosphere.
Performances create and convey meanings where technology falls short. Every character looked and felt native to the story. Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, a promising character that did not realize its potential and Jack O'Connell as the main vampire (yes it is a horror movie) did not breathe and land as intended. Compared to Wunmi Mosaku’s Annie, Mary felt laboured and less sui generis.
A perfect outing for theater and deservedly comparable to Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon in many aspects.
