Why ‘Sinners’ was the best thing I streamed this week
Why ‘Sinners’ was the best thing I streamed this week
The Ryan Coogler film debuted on HBO Max at the beginning of July.
The weekend has arrived once again, and with it comes some downtime — at least I hope so for all you readers out there. With that downtime comes the opportunity to watch something new, and if you’re looking for a recommendation, I have a sizzling suggestion for you this weekend.
The best thing I streamed this week by far was “Sinners,” which was first released in theaters on April 18 before making its way to HBO Max on July 4. Keep reading to find out why it was my favorite new title of the week, and why I think you should rush to HBO Max to watch it if you haven’t already.
“Sinners” features Michael B. Jordan as twins Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore. Returning to Mississippi in 1932 after a stint in Chicago, Smoke and Stack decide to open a juke joint for the local Black community. But the music played there attracts much more than the locals; it also brings an ancient evil to Clarksdale on the joint’s opening night. Will its proprietors or guests survive until the morning?
To start with, I have a hard time steering clear of anything with Jordan in it. I’ve been singularly impressed with his acting chops since the days of “Friday Night Lights,” and he turned in another virtuoso performance as the Smokestack twins in “Sinners.” But it wasn’t just his acting that impressed me; Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Wunmi Mosaku simply oozed charisma and talent throughout the movie, and I found myself unable to tear my eyes from the screen throughout its runtime.
The way Coogler seamlessly weaves music into the movie similarly makes it irresistible. Without giving too much away, the power of music is a key storyline in the film, and Coogler wields it expertly. He consistently finds the perfect placements for a blues number or an Irish folk song sequence that blend with the horror elements of the movie incredibly well.
As a former history major, I also appreciated seeing an honest depiction of the United States through the eyes of people of color in 1932. The Jim Crow era led many Black people to journey northward to areas like Chicago, but all too often, they were simply met with a different flavor of racism in northern locales. “Sinners” portrays this as a simple fact, demonstrating that while racism was rampant and often violent in Mississippi in the early 20th century, it was a fact of life for Black people, essentially wherever they tried to make a home for themselves.
In many ways, the horror elements of the movie are the least remarkable aspect of it, but these, too, are deftly executed. I particularly enjoyed how well those elements were blended with folk wisdom, a highly different approach to the vampire genre, and a welcome one.
How to stream ‘Sinners’
“Sinners” is available to stream on all plans of HBO Max, currently. There is no free trial for new HBO Max customers; the cheapest way to watch the film is with a subscription to HBO Max with ads, which costs $10 per month. You can pay more for ad-free HBO Max plans, or bundle the service with Disney+ and Hulu and save a good chunk off what you’d pay to get all three services separately.
Sinners
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.