SINNERS

The following post contains spoilers for SINNERS If you haven’t seen the film, go do so or proceed at your own risk.

I’ve wanted to see SINNERS ever since I first heard about it. I love Ryan Coogler’s work and have ever since Fruitvale Station. The way he tells a story grips you completely: heart, mind, and body. More than the way he tells it, what truly draws you in is the story itself. SINNERS is no different. To be frank, it is his magnum opus.

Set in 1932 Mississippi, it tells the story of two brothers, Smoke and Stack. They’ve returned from time in Chicago back to the South to chase a dream: Black ownership. They challenge and disregard the restrictions of Jim Crow. The juke joint they open in a place of safety, community, and joy for various marginalized communities. As part of the joint, they enlist their cousin Sammie aka “Preacher Boy,” who is a virtuoso Blues guitarist and wants to pursue a life beyond the confines of being a preacher’s son. His father believes that the Blues is music of the devil; he warns Sammie that he will bring evil if he keeps playing it. Meanwhile, Stack runs into an old girlfriend Mary who he abandoned for Chicago and Smoke reunites with Annie, his love and mother to the daughter they lost.

That night the juke joint opens and in one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever witnessed and is at the heart of this film, Sammie plays a song that it brings together the past-present-future. I want to take a moment and say as someone who believes in a process-relational view of the world, this scene speaks deeply; we are interrelated, our past shapes who we are in the present and what possibilities may lead us to become. Related to that in general, I LOVE the centrality of music in the film! As a massive fan of music, this film really makes it another character and i think rightly makes it a conduit for liberation.

The most important scene in SINNERS

Given that I don’t intend this to be a straight forward review of the film, I’ll assume if you’re reading this you’ve seen it, because I want to talk about themes and deeper meanings. I love that Ryan brought in the experiences of Chinese Americans, Indigenous, and Irish immigrant communities. Don’t get me wrong, this is a film about the Black experience in America, but it shouldn’t be seen as just that. The message here is much broader. Through Annie we see the African traditions and spirituality that was stripped away by enslavement. As a theologian, I can’t help but see the juxtaposition of Annie and the dare I say evangelical and white Christianity preached by Sammie’s father? Ryan Coogler is brilliant so I know that was no doubt intentional.

One thing that I really enjoy about Ryan’s work is how he writes “villains.” Whether it’s Erik Killmonger or in this case, Remmick, they always have a point of view that makes them sympathetic (at least in my opinion) and the reasoning behind their actions makes sense. Remmick is an immigrant from Ireland who has experienced the discrimination and ostracism of other white people. His motivation in turning others into vampires is out of a deep loneliness and desire for connection.  For him, this isn’t about racial superiority; yes, the first person he bites is a member of the KKK, but it turns out that he did that to save Smoke and Stack from being attacked by white supremacists.  He believes in the clan (in the ancestral family sense) not the klan. He welcomes everyone regardless of ethnicity. Near the end of the film, he tells everyone that they’ll never be accepted by society.  On that point, he’s right.  While extremely misguided in how he goes about it, his desire for community is relatable.

There are deep themes of racism, colorism, religion, loss, and identity.  It hit me hard watching Smoke lose Stack as someone who has lost two brothers.  It is a pain I wish on no one. The mid-credits scene was beautiful.

So the question begs, who are the sinners and what is their sin? I submit this to you: we all are. No, I don’t mean that in the religious sense that we have done something that justifies our suffering. I mean that any of us who fall outside the categories of what society has deemed normative. Smoke, Stack, Mary, Annie, Sam, Remmick, you, and me. What is our sin, the irredeemable act that has cast us out? Existing. Our joy. That we dare to dance to music that liberates and affirms us. To speak and shout. To live and breathe. Pushing and pulling. Loving and being loved. SINNERS asks us to think about who is pushed to the margins and why. Who gets to label who a sinner, anyway?

Thank you Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, cast and crew, for this masterpiece. It is truly one for the ages. Never in my life have I sought out a horror film, but this is instantly a classic, across all genres. I feel as if calling it horror does a disservice because that fails to explain its scope; it is something singular that everyone should see.