Sinners

This gave me whiplash. The viewer goes into the movie thinking it’s about the son of a preacher who wants to play secular guitar. But about half way into the film, it makes a sharp turn. The turn was so acute that my partner left the room for the rest of the movie.

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I hesitate to divulge where the movie goes but I did a lot of howling at the screen. It’s intense, and makes you realize that the title of the film is totally misleading.

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It starts with twins who’ve returned from the North who want to make a go of selling alcohol in a juke joint. On opening night, it turns into a horror movie.

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The best thing about this is the technology that allows a single person to play two roles and even interact with themselves. The tech seems to have improved quite a bit since 2015 when Tom Hardy played twins in Legend. Tom Hardy's characters touch shoulders a few times, but in this, the characters of Michael B. Jordan exchange a cigarette, check each other’s guns, and even hug. It’s very believable.

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There is a long, single-camera scene in this that does a lovely job of showing how black music and musicians are connected in a long line, from native African instruments to Afro-futurism, from talking drum to electric guitar. But is it relevant to the story? No.

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After all the hype about this movie and the music in it, I was disappointed.

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