Set in the span of 24 hours at Clarksdale, Mississippi in the fall of 1932, the film revolves around twin siblings who bought a mill to create a juke joint for the locals with the help of people they have known for years where the music their young cousin plays unknowingly attracts a group of mysterious individuals who comes to destroy all. It is a film that is not a conventional vampire film but rather an exploration of American folklore and the temptations of humanity through music during a dark period in American history in a world where African-Americans try to create something for themselves. Ryan Coogler’s screenplay has a unique narrative structure where it opens with a young man in Sammie (Miles Caton) arriving to a local church holding a broken guitar neck where his preacher father (Saul Williams) asks what happened. It then shifts to what happened a day earlier where Sammie’s twin cousins in Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore (Michael B. Jordan) have returned from Chicago with money they stole from gangsters to buy a mill from this racist landowner Hogwood (David Maldonado) who claims that the Ku Klux Klan are dead.
The film’s first act is about Smoke and Stack gathering people in Clarksdale for this juke joint party hoping it would bring money to a community that is largely African-American as well as a Chinese couple in Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao, respectively) who are shopkeepers in the town. They also bring in local bluesman Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) while Sammie meets a married woman in Pearline (Jayme Lawson) who would go to the joint. Stack meanwhile, bumps into a former flame in a white woman in Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) who is in town for her mother’s funeral as she harbors resentment for leaving him years ago. Smoke would reunite with his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) who is an occultist as Smoke harbors resentment towards her over the death of their infant child years ago as she would help cook for the joint. The film’s second act is about the party with Mary also attending and getting reacquainted with Stack, yet the party is briefly interrupted by a trio of mysterious visitors led by the Irish immigrant Remmick (Jack O’Connell). Notably as they are drawn by the blues music that Sammie plays as they would play traditional Irish folk music as things go wrong. Notably as it leads to a third act of terror and violence.
Coogler’s direction is entrancing for not just its depiction of the American South during the Jim Crow era and in the final days of Prohibition during the Great Depression. It is also in playing up the many myths and spiritual elements about the American South as it is shot on location in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. Coogler opens the film with images of American folklore as it relates to the American South, Africa, and the Mississippi Choctaw tribe as they are seen briefly as they are in pursuit of something they deem is evil. The film then shows Sammie driving a car as he is covered in blood and holding a broken guitar neck as it would be shown again towards the end as it sort of plays into a reflective narrative. Coogler’s usage of wide and medium shots do allow him to get a lot of depth of field into the locations of the American South with a lot of coverage of cotton fields and ponds that do have this air of richness at a time when there is a lot of disparity and turmoil. A lot of its vast look is because Coogler shoots the film on 65mm IMAX film stock which allows him to get more coverage of the locations and the settings for the overall presentation.
Coogler also uses close-ups and medium shots to play into characters interacting with one another as well as some inventive tracking shots such as a scene of Smoke at a small town to meet the Chows. The direction also has this element of surrealism where Sammie plays a song on the Dobro resonator acoustic guitar that Stack claims is from Charley Patton. It plays into the way music can transcend all sorts of things where it can reach into the past as well as the future. The usage of music whether it is the blues or traditional Irish folk music is a key proponent of the film where Coogler also play into the sense of mysticism and spirituality that the music conjures. With the aid of choreographer Aakomon Jones, Coogler also play in the way music can bring together as it also has this sense of dread and terror that would play into the film’s third act where it does become a pure horror film. It is also where loss comes into play where many of the people who have become vampires are those filled with loss as well as resentment.
The third act is also filled with elements of surrealism as well as revelations about the mill that Smoke and Stack purchased. Notably as it forces people at the joint to fight for their own survival with Sammie at the center due to the music he played as well as being a survivor of what had happened. Coogler uses that film’s opening scene to also be an ending of sorts that would also include a mid-credit scene as it relates to Sammie and everything he endured back in his life. A lot of which plays into the legend of American blues as Clarksdale is a legendary area of where American blues came from dating back to Robert Johnson and the legend that he sold his soul to the devil. Coogler does a lot to play into these myths as it relates to the blues as he creates a film that does act like a blues song. Overall, Coogler crafts an unsettling yet ravishing film about twin brothers trying to create a juke joint in their hometown unaware of the evil forces they are inviting.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw does incredible work with the film’s cinematography where the usage of the 65mm film stock allows the film to have beauty in the nighttime interiors for the scenes at the juke joint with the usage of candles and available light as well as the gorgeous and colorful imagery for some of the daytime exteriors as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Michael P. Shawver does excellent work with the editing with its usage of stylish montages for some early bits in the film as well as some rhythmic cut to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Hannah Beachler, with set decorator Monique Champagne and supervising art director Jesse Rosenthal, does brilliant work with the set design of the town of Clarksdale with its shops as well as the mill where Smoke and Stack have their juke joint as it is the centerpiece of the film. Costume designer Ruth E. Carter does fantastic work with the costumes in the posh-like dresses that Mary and Pearline wear in the juke joint as well as the expensive suits Smoke and Stack wear as well as the ragged look of some of the characters.
Special effects makeup artists Kelsey Berk, Bailey Domke, Lauren Spencer, and Kevin Wasner, along with hair designer Shunika Terry Jennings, do amazing work with the look of the characters in their vampire state with the colorful eyes as well as the hairstyle that many of the characters had at that time. Special effects supervisor Matt Kutcher and visual effects supervisor Michael Ralla do marvelous work with the visual effects as it play into the surreal elements of the film with the elements of mysticism and for some moments of set-dressing for the exterior scenes. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker does superb work with the sound as the layer of sound of what is heard on location as well as the way the music is presented when it is performed live as there are a lot of things that are presented as it is a highlight of the film.
The film’s music by Ludwig Goransson is phenomenal for its hypnotic and unsettling score that is a mixture of ambient, blues, and folk music. With additional production by Goransson’s wife Serena, the music is this collage of styles that play into elements of traditional music with elements of modern music including metal, hip-hop, and electronic music with contributions from musicians like Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Raphael Saadiq, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Bobby Rush, and Buddy Guy. The soundtrack also features elements of traditional blues and Irish folk songs along with original songs performed on set from Miles Caton, Jayme Lawson, Delroy Lindo, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, and other recorded music from Hailee Steinfeld and Rod Wave. The soundtrack and score is a tremendous highlight of the film as it is a major proponent in the film’s story.
The casting by Francine Maisler is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Helena Hu as the Chow’s daughter Lisa, Saul Williams as Sammie’s preacher father Jedidiah, Mark L. Patrick as a Choctaw horseback scout, David Maldonado as a landowner in Hogwood who sells the mill and its property to Smoke and Stack, Lola Kirke and Peter Dreimanis as married KKK members in Joan and Bert who later join Remmick in wreaking havoc, Yao as Grace’s shopkeeper husband Bo Chow, and Omar Benson Miller as a longtime friend of Smoke and Stack in Cornbread who works at the juke joint as a bouncer. Li Jun Li is fantastic as Grace Chow as a Chinese shopkeeper who creates the sign for the juke joint as well as serving alcohol as she also copes with the chaos that is happening later in the film as well as threats towards her daughter. Jayme Lawson is excellent as Pearline as a young married woman Sammie falls for as she would also prove herself to be a solid blues singer while also dealing with the chaos happening later in the film including being hesitant to eat garlic.
Jack O’Connell is brilliant as the Irish immigrant Remmick who arrives mysteriously as is later revealed to be a vampire as he is fascinated by the music that Sammie plays as he would channel his own traditional Irish folk music to seduce those who follow him. Delroy Lindo is incredible as Delta Slim as a blues musician who knows a lot about music as he is also someone who loves to drink where he is elder statesman of sorts who is aware of Sammie’s talents while also delivering some of the funniest lines in the film. Wunmi Mosaku is amazing as Smoke’s estranged wife who also works in the occult as she believes in superstitions and such while harbors resentment towards Smoke who left Clarksdale after the death of their daughter while also being someone who knows about how to deal with vampires. Hailee Steinfeld is phenomenal as Mary as a former flame of Stack who harbors resentment for being left behind where she hopes to rekindle their relationship while also dealing with the evil outside of the juke joint.
Miles Caton is tremendous in his film debut as Smoke and Stack’s cousin Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore as a preacher’s son who is also a gifted musician that can play the blues in a way that is entrancing. Yet, he is also someone that is unaware of how gifted he is in how it would attract a form of evil that would haunt him where Caton brings a naturalism to a young man that would encounter fear of the worst kind as it is a major discovery in the film. Finally, there’s Michael B. Jordan in a spectacular dual-performance as the twin siblings Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore. Jordan’s performance as these twins has him bring different subtleties to two different characters with Smoke being the more serious and somber of the twins while Stack is a livelier person than Smoke as there are a lot of nuances that Jordan brings in the two performances. Even as things would intensify where Jordan adds elements of fear and terror in the roles to add up to the suspense and horror as it is a career-defining performance for Jordan.
Sinners is an outstanding film by Ryan Coogler. Featuring great performances from its ensemble cast, a gripping story of loss and fear in the American South, a balance of different genres, intoxicating visuals, an immersive sound design, and a grand yet unsettling music score and soundtrack. This is a film that does not define itself in any genre while also playing into the power of music as it transcends all sorts of things including past, present, and future in all its beauty and ugliness. In the end, Sinners is a magnificent film by Ryan Coogler.
Ryan Coogler Films: Fruitvale Station - Creed - Black Panther - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - The Auteurs #74: Ryan Coogler
© thevoid99 2025
Set from 1926 to 1932 with an epilogue set in 1952, the film follows a number of people living in the wild and excessive world of Hollywood that includes a brilliant yet decadent film star, a rising starlet, a jazz trumpeter, and a Mexican assistant who rises to become a studio executive from the world of silent films to the emergence of sound. It is a film that plays into the lives of various people as they would live a decadent lifestyle that offers so much while also being extremely passionate about their love for film and making films. At the center of this chaos and creativity is a Mexican immigrant in Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva) who works as an assistant for a studio executive who would befriend various people he meets as he would work his way into a prominent position in the world of film playing to the lives and fates of those he meets and cares for. Even as he has to watch up close and from afar in the lives of these people who would have trouble adjusting to a new world that would become more of an industry than its emphasis on art.
Damien Chazelle’s screenplay is largely straightforward as it opens with Manny trying to get an elephant up a hill for this party despite the fact that the elephant is ill while trying to maintain some control in the sense of decadence happening around him. It is there he meets a young wannabe starlet in Nellie LeRoy (Margot Robbie) who crashes the party as she would get a film role after the original starlet had overdosed on drugs while famed silent film star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) arrives to the party where he would help Manny get jobs for Kinoscope Studios. Manny would also meet the African-American jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), the famed gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), and the Chinese-American cabaret artist/title writer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li) as the would all play a role in Manny’s ascent yet the script does focus on Nellie’s own ascent as a silent film star despite her brash attitude and free-spirited personality. Upon his tenure working with Conrad, Manny would learn about Conrad’s ambitions to innovate and inspire yet is unprepared for the emergence of sound in films as Manny traveled to New York City to see The Jazz Singer as Kinoscope would also go into sound.
The film’s first act revolves around the time when Conrad is a top star and Nellie becoming this emerging star while they also take part in decadent parties with Nellie sleeping around with people including Lady Fay, who is known by people in their social circle as a lesbian, as the second act is about the emergence of sound with Nellie having difficulty adjusting to the new format. Even as a party where Nellie’s voice is mocked by a few people as it play into her decline as she would gain a reputation for being wild and engaging herself into drugs and gambling debts. Despite Manny’s ascent as a director and producer as he tries to get Nellie some work while making Sidney a film star with a jazz orchestra for Sidney. Manny is unable to help Nellie in her attempt to be part of Hollywood’s high society as the film’s third act plays into her fall as well as Conrad’s own fading film career as he is treated by MGM as their bailout star. It also play into the world where the film industry has changed with Manny being able to adapt but not everyone he knows are able to adapt in a world that has become more about money than creativity.
Chazelle’s direction is quite grand in its approach to capturing the period of silent films as it opens with the old Paramount Pictures logo from the 1920s as it then cuts into Manny waiting for a truck driver to carry an elephant up on a hill as it has this close-up shot of an elephant’s asshole shitting on a person. It is the first of a series of debauched moments that would arrive as once Manny and some people arrive at this mansion. There’s a young woman peeing on a fat man and all of this happens before 10 minutes while there are all of these tracking shots that showcases a party happening with orgies, dancing, drinking, and all sorts of debauchery including lots of cocaine snorting. All of this happens within 30 minutes of the film before the opening title credit appears as Chazelle allows the audience to be prepared for the amount of insanity they would endure for more than 3 hours. Yet, Chazelle maintains this sense of grandeur into the world that these characters live in with all of these wide shots into how a film was made such as Manny driving to town to wait for a camera arrive to rent after a bunch of cameras have been destroyed and then steal an ambulance to bring that camera before sunset.
That is intercut with Nellie doing her first movie and how natural she comes across to the point that she upstages the film’s main star to the point where she becomes the studio’s top gal as it’s presented with bawdy humor. Much of Chazelle’s direction plays up to the sense of excess that goes on in a Hollywood film production during the silent era while the sequence where Nellie makes her first sound film is among one of the most key moments in which Nellie has to be a certain position for her voice to be heard while everything around her goes wrong as she gets frustrated at the sound engineer while the assistant director absolutely goes on a fucking rant as if he is ready to kill someone. It is a key sequence that showcases everybody trying to adjust into this new form with an aftermath that shows that not everyone will be part of this new era in film as it would change into something far more commercial and less about art. Especially in the film’s third act where Manny would rise into a position of power as a director and studio executive yet uses his clout to ensure that Sidney becomes a star and Nellie remains on the studio’s payroll despite her issues with drugs and gambling. The film’s third act not only has this sense of everything being buttoned down where Chazelle’s close-ups and medium shots add to this element of claustrophobia in these characters who are trying to fit in to high society.
Yet, it also shows that they’ve become disconnected with who they are and hoping to return to that as the sequence where Elinor tries to show high society the new and improved Nellie to the likes of William Randolph Hearst (Pat Skipper) and Marion Davies (Chloe Fineman) while Sidney is the lone black person at the party as it is clear that neither of them fit in with these people and their shitty taste in food and drinks. The film’s climax doesn’t just play to Nellie hitting her bottom but also Manny’s devotion to her as it leads to him discovering a darker underworld in Hollywood that invites the likes of an eccentric gangster in James McKay (Tobey Maguire). It would be followed by this epilogue set in 1952 as it is about what Hollywood had become and what was lost but also the importance of film and the world that Manny was a part of. Overall, Chazelle crafts a tremendously grand and enthralling film about the lives of artists and individuals of the silent film world and their difficulty to adjust to a new world.
Cinematographer Linus Sandgren does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its different array of film stock for the films that are made with black-and-white in those films but also luscious colors for the daytime exterior scenes along with some unique lighting for some of the interior scenes including some of its nighttime scenes as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Tom Cross does excellent work with the editing in maintaining a sense of manic energy while knowing when to slow things down as there’s some straight cuts and jump-cuts as it helps maintain this rollercoaster feel for the film. Production designer Florencia Martin, with set decorator Anthony Carlino and supervising art director Eric Sundahl, does amazing work with the art direction with the usage of the cars from the period as well as the interiors of the mansion in the film’s opening sequence as well as the studio sets both in a soundstage and outside of the studio as it is a highlight of the film.
Costume designer Mary Zophres does brilliant work with the film’s costumes from the red dress that Nellie wears in her first appearance as well as the array of period clothing at that time including the lavish dresses that women wore in those times as it is another highlight of the film. Special makeup effects artists Jason Collins, Thomas Floutz, and Tanner White, along with special makeup effects designer Arjen Tuiten, do terrific work with the look of the characters including some of the prop makeup used in films as well as the hairstyles of the time as it all play into this world of decadence. Special effects supervisor Elia P. Popov, along with visual effects supervisors Jay Cooper and John L. Weckworth, does fantastic work with the visual effects in the way special effects were presented during the silent film eras along with some visual set dressing to make Los Angeles look like the 1920s.
Sound designers Ai-Ling Lee and Tobias Poppe, along with sound editor Mildred Iatrou, do superb work with the sound as its mixing of sounds at the opening party sequence as well as the way sound is captured in the early days of film along with moments that help play into the atmosphere of a room or something heard from afar. The film’s music by Justin Hurwitz is incredible for its jazz-based score as it has these arrangements in the pianos, strings and brass including lots of trumpet solos and such while music supervisor Noah Hubbell help cultivate a soundtrack that includes some standards of the time along with a song sung by Lady Fay in My Girl’s Pussy that is shocking as it is a major highlight of the film.
The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous as it features appearances and cameos from Kaia Gerber as a starlet at the first party that Lady Fay flirts with, Patrick Fugit as a police officer at the party, Taylor Hill as Conrad’s last wife, John Mariano as the masters of ceremonies at the opening party, Olivia Wilde as Conrad’s first wife who leaves him early in the film, Karolina Szymczak as another of Conrad’s wives who is a Hungarian opera singer, Jennifer Grant as high society lady Mildred Yates, Phoebe Tonkin as a young starlet in Jane Thornton who is first seen peeing on a man, Joe Dallesandro as a photographer, Albert Hammond Jr. as a man in a chicken line at the first party, J.C. Currais as a truck driver who is supposed to transport an elephant, Karina Fontes as a waitress Conrad flirts with at the first party, Vanessa Bednar as Nellie’s mother, and Spike Jonze as a tyrannical European filmmaker trying to make an epic period film starring Conrad.
Other noteworthy small roles include Alexandre Chen as the famed cinematographer James Wong Howe, Samara Weaving as the film starlet Constance Moore that is upstaged by Nellie, Chloe Fineman as actress Marion Davies, Sarah Ramos as high society member Harriet Rothschild, Pat Skipper as the famed businessman William Randolph Hearst, Eric Roberts as Nellie’s slimy father Robert Roy who would add to Nellie’s financial troubles, Ethan Suplee as McKay’s right-hand man Wilson who constantly spits, Jeff Garlin as the Kinoscope Studios boss Don Wallach, Flea as Wallach’s assistant Bob Levine who is often the middle man Wallach and everyone else as he respects Manny for his hard work, Rory Scovel as a drug dealer/aspiring actor known as the Count who often supplies drugs to actors on set, Max Minghella as MGM studio head Irving Thalberg, Olivia Hamilton as the filmmaker Ruth Adler who would direct many of Nellie’s films, P.J. Byrne as Adler’s assistant director Max, Katherine Waterston as Conrad’s stage actress fiancée who believes film is a low art, and Lukas Haas as Conrad’s best friend/producer George Munn who was the one that had championed Conrad despite his own troubles yet Conrad was always helpful towards him.
Tobey Maguire is great as the eccentric gangster James McKay who appears late in the film as someone that Nellie owes money to as he is this odd yet scary figure that is part of a dark underworld in Los Angeles as well as be the showman of a lifestyle that is way too dark. Jean Smart is brilliant as Elinor St. John as a gossip columnist whose writing helps or breaks people on the rise as she is someone that plays a role in Nellie’s ascent and descent yet has a loyalty to those whose career she helped create despite the role she has to play in the film industry. Li Jun Li is amazing as Lady Fay Zhu as this Chinese-American cabaret singer who is the embodiment of decadence while isn’t afraid to tell the world that she’s a lesbian until her work as a title designer becomes obsolete as she also deals with being ostracized because of her sexuality. Jovan Adepo is excellent as Sidney Palmer as this gifted jazz trumpeter who often plays at parties while also spouting insults towards his bandmates during the parties as he would later become an actor and performer for films in collaboration with Manny until he becomes alienated by high society and the studio’s ideas in making him more appealing to racist Southern audiences.
Brad Pitt is phenomenal as Jack Conrad as a man who is the embodiment of a movie star that can carry a picture and bring money but is also someone that is often involved in short-lived marriages and relationships except with those who has helped him in his career while he would lament over his declining film career in the era of sound films as well as loss and disillusionment. Diego Calva is incredible as Manuel “Manny” Torres as an assistant to Don Wallach who would work his way up the ranks in his love for film and filmmaking where he eventually becomes a filmmaker and a studio executive yet is also devoted to Nellie whom he is in love with despite her many troubles as he is someone that bonded with her early in their careers as he does whatever he can to help her. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a spectacular performance as Nellie LeRoy as a young woman who believes she is a star as she is this free spirit that is all about life while is also vulnerable considering her own troubled family life where Robbie displays a lot of charisma and tragedy into someone who couldn’t deal with the need to conform to high society as well as having to make changes in the world of sound films as it is truly a career-defining performance from Robbie.
Babylon is a tremendous film from Damien Chazelle that features sensational leading performances from Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as well as a major discovery in Diego Calva. Along with ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, exhilarating music score and soundtrack, and its depiction of early 20th Century decadence at its most uncompromising. It is a film that doesn’t apologize for how over-the-top and how insane it is in showcasing a period in time where there were no rules with characters who are forced to play by the rules to survive only for those that refuses to become part of an industry where creativity is unimportant. In the end, Babylon is a magnificent film from Damien Chazelle.
Damien Chazelle Films: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench – Whiplash (2014 film) - La La Land - First Man - (The Auteurs #76: Damien Chazelle)
© thevoid99 2024
