Sinners–Get Out of Limbo

Sinners,  directed and written by Ryan Coogler (most famously known for “Black Panther”), opens in a church consisting of mostly Black congregants in the Mississippi Delta.  The year is 1932.  Sammie (Miles Caton), a twenty-something young man in sharecropper overalls with brutal gashes on his left cheek, walks  up to the front carrying his guitar, to address the pastor, who is his father.  Sammie’s father expels him from church, cursing him for following his heart–his music–without first worshipping God.

Two twin brothers, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan of “Black Panther” and “Creed”) , who worked for Al Capone in Chicago, are now returning to their hometown with enough cash to open a nightclub in the Jim Crow south.

With dreams of creating an entertainment haven for their family, friends, and workers in the town, Smoke and Stack are determined to succeed.  Armed with more money and weapons than anyone else in their community has ever seen, along with the intelligence to outsmart their envious White neighbors, Smoke and Stack enjoy the music and exuberance on the opening night of their club.

In this Southern Gothic horror film–yes, with vampires and music (!) –we see  monsters/vampires as racists sucking out the blood of the Black community, costing all of them their souls. 

Unsuspecting Blacks are subjected to the monsters’ powers as well as oblivious White folks, revealing the curse that racism has inflicted on both abuser and abused.  

Sinners has many extraordinarily rich elements of myth and allegory:–from African folklore, magic realism and ritual, America’s racist perniciousness, colorism and “passing” for White.  In addition, Black characters suffer from  broken yet strong family and kinship bonds, and have earned their wealth in the midst of veritably insurmountable obstacles.  Fused in the context of music –with clips of African drums and Chinese dancers–Sinners explores friendship among people of color uniting to protect themselves and their communities.  Music  is the unifying principle, a  transcendent and aesthetically empowering experience that makes Sinners almost feel like a horror/musical in some scenes.

The film doesn’t seem to know where to end, however,  and that is Sinners’ biggest flaw.  There are at least three possible endings to the drama, the first being an organic but sobering end to the perpetrators who delight in and benefit from Jim Crow horrors.  But Sinners keeps on going, not apparently knowing when to stop.  There are two more “endings” to tie up characters’ ambiguous fates  and satisfy viewers who want to see some sort of positive–at least partly positive–grappling with the injustices of this period in American history.    The final wobbly endings leave the viewer in limbo–without the confidence and biting commentary of other films in this genre– like “Get Out”.

Availability:  HBOmax

Note:  Nominated for more Academy Awards (16) this year than any other film in the Academy’s history.