Review: Sinners - Chicago Reader

Sinners is an awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures.

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Posted inMovie Review

Sinners is an awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures.

by Kyle Logan April 18, 2025

Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture

Despite appearances, Sinners is more From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) than Interview With the Vampire (1994). The movie spends its first hour introducing characters, their skills and relationships revealed through interactions with twins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan). The charismatic twins have returned to their rural Mississippi hometown from Chicago with some money, and they want to build something with and for their people: a hardworking, hard-partying Black community with a Chinese American family that runs the town grocery store. Their talents include cooking, painting, bodyguarding, bartending, and, most importantly, playing music. 

It’s music that will bring the people to the twins’ new endeavor: a juke joint. A place for people to gather, gamble, drink, love, and dance. The use of music in the film is astounding: one bravura sequence, built on the idea that “music can conjure spirits,” takes the audience on a breathtaking tour through Black and Chinese cultural history. 

Up to that point, it’s almost easy to forget this is a fantastical movie, as focused as it’s been on building character and relationships. When the vampires inevitably attempt to invite themselves to the party, the film becomes a densely themed siege movie. Conversations touch on “proper” and “improper” ways of being Black, leaving your community for fame conferred by white society, religion’s place as perhaps equally oppressive and liberatory force, and much more. It’s almost overwhelming. 

But writer-director Ryan Coogler largely threads the needle, with some missteps into rote plotting, of blockbuster fun and thoughtful commentary. Yet, it’s none of the incisive lines or cheer-worthy action beats that stay with you after it’s over; it’s the film’s monumental musical moments. More than anything, Sinners is an awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures. 137 min.

Wide release in theaters

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