Sinners - Coogler Lets Loose
Written by Dr. Zoe Crombie
There’s been something of a pattern in recent years in which critically successful directors are recruited to make franchise films, often with mixed results. The MCU are the most famous for this, bringing in the likes of Edgar Wright, Sam Raimi, and Chloe Zhao to make new superhero entries that only tend to retain a fraction of their directorial personality. Interestingly, one director has faced the opposite problem: Ryan Coogler, whose acclaimed work on franchise films like Black Panther and Creed has led some to wonder how he operates outside of conventional filmmaking.
Finally breaking away from the constraints of pre-existing IPs, Coogler makes his personality known with Sinners, a relentlessly original film combining blues, Al Capone gangsters, and bloodthirsty supernatural forces with the epic feel of a Christopher Nolan movie. Aligning us with aspiring musician Sammie as he trails the actions of his cousins, the enigmatic twins Smoke and Stack – both played to perfection by Michael B. Jordan – the film takes a myriad of twists and turns, beginning as an exploration of segregation in the American South and ending as a phantasmagorical nightmare.
Anchored by masterful direction and containing one of the most talked about scenes of any recent release, Sinners has to be experienced on the big screen. If you’re at all interested in horror, Black history, or both, this is easily one of the most exciting releases of the year.
Catch it at the Dukes on the 25th, the 28th and the 29th of May.
