Ryan Coogler’sSinnershasgenerated significant hypein the past week, and the hype is real. Coogler’s original film seamlessly blends genres such as drama, crime, andhorrorwhile adding something new to the vampire subgenre of horror. It is a transcendent film in every sense of the word. The cinematography, editing, performances, and the infectious score are absolutely stunning.
Coogler’s intricate screenplay is so layered and nuanced that you continuously discover something new as you digest the story. The thoughtful, accurate inclusion of multiple cultures adds historical context to the narrative that elevates the film. Each character feels fully fleshed out and developed, making it easy for audiences to sympathize with most of them. One character in particular is a standout, and it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of.
The backbone of the film’s story is music, specifically, Blues music. The soundtrack is addictive, and there’s a reason for that. Blues is the soul ofSinners. It is connected to every facet of the narrative and every character. Music is alive in this film. It is a character itself. The music bridges each act of this film, including the two post-credit scenes. The film would be incredible even without the heavy inclusion of music, but it is the dedication to using music as a means of storytelling that truly makes this a powerhouse film.
Warning: Spoilers forSinnersahead.
From the opening scene of the movie, music is the heartbeat of the story. The scene starts the day after the events of the juke joint took place. Sammie (newcomer Miles Caton) walks into his father’s church, covered in blood, and his father begs him to put down his guitar and choose the Lord instead. By the end of the movie, the audience knows how much Blues music means to Sammie. Even after everything that happened at the juke joint and everyone he just lost, he knows that Blues is more than just music, but a way to preserve his culture and honor his ancestors.
After he agrees to help Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) open up their new juke place, he helps Stack enlist the musical talent of Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), a local musician who understands how powerful music can be. When the three men are on their way to the joint, Slim shares a story about an old friend of his. It’s obvious that Slim still feels pain sharing this story, but he starts humming to translate his pain into song. It’s a beautiful scene that emphasizes how important Blues and music in general are to these characters.
When the opening night party is in full swing at the Juke, everyone there is connected throughSammie’s song, “I Lied To You.“It is the bridge between culture and race at the Juke. Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), whose maternal grandfather was Black, is white-passing and reaps the benefits of white privilege, although not all the decisions to use her white privilege were her own. Still, she lets the music move through her. Just as the Chows, who are Chinese immigrants, let the music flow through them. Even the vampires lurking around the Juke latch onto the raw, rich power of Sammie’s music. It is the driving force of the entire narrative.
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The Evolution of Blues Is The Movie’s Heart
There is a scene in the middle of the movie that everyone says is incredible, and they’re not wrong. This particular musical scene is what I mean when I say the movie is transcendent. Time, space, and culture stop to unite in this scene. The entire history of Blues music and African culture and their undeniable impact on music in general is evident in this scene. The way music and culture go hand in hand is also emphasized throughout this scene. It brings together music of the past, present, and future in such a visually stunning and thematically captivating way. The one-shot filming technique heightens the experience.
Shortly after this scene, the vampires show up at the Smokestack twins' juke joint. Led by Remmick (Jack O’Connell), the vampires attempt to convince Smoke and Stack to let them in. Being in the south during the Jim Crow era, both brothers realize it’s not a smart move to let strange white people into their new establishment. Still, Remmick persists throughout the night, inevitably turning people as they come in and out of the Juke. We learn that Remmick is drawn to Sammie’s music as it has the power to conjure spirits and connect them with their ancestors. Sammie’s talent and strong connection with Blues music are enticing to Remmick in the way that blood typically is to vampires.
As the night descends into a nightmare for Smoke, Sammie, Slim, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), and the last few survivors, music is still what everyone clings to. Even as their friends and family either become vampires or tragically perish, the music persists. In an act of self-sacrifice, Slim offers himself up to the vampires, so Sammie and Smoke can make their escape. He revels in the music one last time, andDelroy Lindo even stated that Slimsaw his self-sacrifice as a way to preserve the future of their music and culture. In the first of two post-credit scenes, we see that Sammie chose Blues over religion against his father’s wishes, and became renowned in the Blues space. Therefore, preserving the future of music and culture.
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Irish Folk Is Important to The Story Too
Coogler’s decision to make Remmick an Irish vampire was a completely intentional choice. TheIrish were first invaded by the Englishin 1169 and is referred to as the first English colony in a letter written by Friedrich Engels to Karl Marx. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Ireland was colonized by mostly Protestant settlers. During this time, the settlers brought with them their religion, language, and music. The Irish language was outlawed along with other Irish social and political practices. Imperialism in Ireland was established through violence and force.
Remmick remembers what it was like to watch his culture and heritage be stripped away from his people, but he lived long enough to become the thing he hated. He may have thought that he was sympathizing with the Smokestack brothers and their friends by relating to the harrowing history Black people have faced in America. He may have thought he was offering them a chance at true freedom by being a vampire. A life where they didn’t have to live by the degrading laws of the Jim Crow era, where they didn’t have to work for the people who dehumanized them. Instead, he became the oppressor he once despised. Remmick stripped them of their agency by turning patrons of the Juke joint into vampires without their consent, and became a culture vulture by trying to steal Sammie’s gift of music.
He did the same thing that was done to his Irish ancestors and Smoke and Stack’s ancestors. The use of vampirism is symbolic of white people stealing from Black culture and profiting off their ideas and creations. Remmick may have related to the Juke patrons to an extent, and his performance of “Rocky Road to Dublin” shows that he thought they shared a connection. Not just through the history of his people and the Smokestack brothers' people, but also in the shared power of music. He saw how Sammie’s music transcended time and brought their ancestors to them, and Remmick wanted in on that, even if it meant stealing from Sammie’s culture. Music is the living, breathing soul of this film.
