Sinners

WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! Record holder for most Oscar nominations for a reason, every nomination is deserved and noticeable upon watching this film. Let's start with the acting, phenomenal. MBJ plays twins, effortless performance that shows the separate personalities of the twins without being cheesy. By the end of the movie you see how clear it was from the beginning that each twin would have the end they did. Performing a character in a way that subtly sets up their end is deeply important for a film like Sinners, MBJ does this in a way that keeps your attention and shocks you. Hailee Steinfeld, I can say I know her personally, basically. From ruining the riff off in Pitch Perfect to a stunning performance in Sinners, wow wow wow. Every performance in this film creates this sequence of events that bring the script from page to screen. However, without the set and costume design we would not be sitting here discussing. Time period films are very easy to get wrong, too modern of outfits, sets that just cannot be reminiscent of the time they are portraying, killing the film in the process. This cannot be said of Sinners, outfits that show the background of each character without saying it, sets that portray the time realistically, no sugar coating. Sinners is about race, obviously, even if people try to deny it. Ryan Coogler incorporates this in every element of the movie, this is not a movie simply about vampires versus humans. Sinners is about cultural assimilation and the struggle for identity. The pressure to give in to the vampires who try to convince everyone to invite them in, this can be said even today. Connecting this to today's culture, we as a society struggle to do anything that goes outside the status quo. Ryan Coogler released this film in a time that really needed it, given the political state of the world. It presents culture through blues music, very important in the time it is presenting. Not only does this film demonstrate the reality at the time, but it a celebration of how far we have gotten and yet, we still have to go further. Throughout the film, the events show as a critique of our culture, it empowers the viewer to stay true in their beliefs despite the pressure from others. It is very clear why this masterclass in directing and storytelling has been nominated for 16 Academy Awards. Sinners will be looked upon for years to come as one of the greats. I encourage anyone reading this to go watch Sinners right now, you will not regret it. Go check out my film stills page to see some pictures of the cinematography from this film, more to come.