Sinners

by Philip Price

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Director: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton & Hailee Steinfeld 
Rated: R (strong bloody violence, sexual content & language)
Runtime: 2 hours & 17 minutes

​There’s so much to love, discuss and dissect about “Sinners” that it’s difficult to know where to start. What struck me initially, though, is knowing how close I am in age to both director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan, and how we likely share many of the same cultural touchstones if not necessarily the same life experiences. That understanding in mind, being in similar stages of life undoubtedly leads to shared perspectives on multiple subjects. This occurred to me most when considering how often I turn to the bigger picture when struggling with an issue or confrontation; weighing the pros and cons, and ultimately, if the investment of my time, thought and effort is worth the weight of the probable outcome. In short, the impact of our actions and how much and in what sense they reverberate means more to us the older we get, and as time becomes more precious.

With “Sinners,” Coogler considers the reverberations of his character's actions through an eternity, where the future isn't as precious as the past, and the actions that led to these circumstances, as well as the decisions made in that single night, determine the course of that eternity.

It’s a movie of contrasts seemingly intended to explore the differences and halves that make us whole in all the fascinating ways our inspirations and innovations contrive; how the old informs the new and how those in power use the past to construct the future. 

“Sinners” feasts on the idea that time is the greatest ghost that doesn’t stop haunting us until the peace of death brings, and how, for some, even that remains elusive. This type of deconstruction and exploration ultimately elicits the kind of genuine magic only the movies can conjure in that no matter the vast difference of moral codes that sit in a theater, when you view the world from that cinema seat, the lines between who to root for and who to vilify become one.

I also love that the movie largely focuses on and emphasizes the power of music, showing how it can change one's life.