Sinners is the #1 movie in America, it’s already one of the 100 top-grossing horror films in US history, and it’s gotten incredible reviews—because money aside, this is an instant-classic film. And yet! I keep seeing reviewers using words like “messy” and “overstuffed”. (I mean, it’s one of the most beautifully structured films I’ve ever seen, and the most audacious filmmaking this side of Speed Racer, but okay.) One article literally stuck an asterisk on a headline about the film’s success. I guess every other movie makes its budget back by midnight Sunday of opening weekend! It couldn’t possibly be because of some other reason. Maybe because Coogler worked out a rights reversion deal—just like Quentin Tarantino did, years ago—and that the idea of creative people owning their own work make Hollywood nervous.
Yes, this is extra funny if you’ve seen the movie.
But I’m not even here to talk about that.
As I said in my earlier review, you should see this one in a theater if you possibly can. This is one of those special film experiences, like Fury Road or Oppenheimer, that you’ll want to experience with people. This is the kind of movie that makes you glad movies exist. I’ve never forgotten watching Fury Road the first time, the way the theater gradually just started yelling as they realized that the movie was, in fact, going to KICK ASS right up to the last frame. Or the silence that fell in every theater during Oppenheimer, how the quiet started to have weight, how people would sit stunned for a few minutes after the ending.
For those of you who haven’t seen Sinners yet, or who are, like me, planning to go again this weekend, I’ve found a gift: Ryan Coogler did a short video for Kodak explaining film stock, aspect ratios, and how those different ratios affect our experience of a movie. He talks about how Sinners was shot in several different ratios for different reasons. And at the end of this video, he outlines a few different ways the film is being shown, so you can decide how you want to see it. (He even gives a list of some of the theaters! I know a lot of screenings are very sold out, but maybe you’ll find one near you.) What a generous thing for Coogler to do? This isn’t just some advertisement for his movie, it’s a fun way to learn a little more about how film works the way it does, and loving celebration of film as film—a heartening thing in our digital era.
Enjoy!
Always a pleasure to hear from an expert who loves what they do …