They Are SINNERS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Ryan Coogler and Warner Bros. Pictures is the story of brothers and SINNERS.

It’s Charleston, Mississippi in 1932, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) are twin brothers who are leaving Chicago behind returning to the south. They immediately set up shop by purchasing property to open up their own juke joint. Looking for talent, they turn to their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) to bring his guitar playing blues voice and fellow musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo).

In town, they gather what’s needed for an opening night with the help of Bo Chow (Yao) and his wife Grace (Li Jun Li) and doorman Cornbread (Omar Miller). Smoke is taking time to revisit Beatrice (Tenaj L. Jackson) and asking for her help with the opening. Stack runs into Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) but wants to avoid any problems and at the same a woman named Pearline (Jayme Lawson) catches Sammie’s eye.

Opening night is a raging success and Sammie performs bringing the music to a whole new level. So much so that it catches the attention of Remmick (Jack O’Connell), a stranger who wants one thing – to take each person and make them part of his deranged family. When Smoke and Stack realize something isn’t right, the fight against evil begins.

Jordan as Smoke and Stack play two brothers with different temperament and that makes it easy to tell them apart. Believing they can start a successful business, the opening night shows promise. Each brother is watching the business and could never imagine that coming home means dealing with the devil. Jordan makes playing both characters look easy and brings in the believability that he is the two brothers.

Caton as Sammie is a young man who wants more than to be the son of a preacher and farm hand. He sees music as a way out of the life he is in much to the dismay of his father. The music is everything and Caton brings the blues to a whole other level. Lindo as Slim is there for Smoke and Stack and sees something special in Sammie. Lindo has always been a powerful presence on the screen and in this film, he continues his reign.

Steinfeld as Mary is a strong woman who refuses to give up on her feelings of love for Stack. She knows that to make him admit his feelings, Mary has to go to the juke joint no matter what the group might say. Jackson as Beatrice is a woman who understands what is happening and is motivated by her love of Smoke. I loved watching Jackon’s performance as it is steeped in a history with Smoke that is poignant and mysticism.

Yao and Li Jun Li are a couple that also have a history with Smoke and Stack so when they brothers ask for help, a little negotiating happens and they also enjoy the opening night. There is a moment where Li had the entire audience groaning with, “no she didn’t!” and then we all broke out laughing. Miller as Cornbread is hired for his strength but that doesn’t mean he is safe from what is outside the juke joint door.

O’Connell as Remmick has a goal, to get as many people on his side of the fight as demonically possible. Filled with song and dance, Remmick makes it clear that he wants Sammie most of all. I loved watching O’Connell morph into this character that is so dark and charming at the same time. His character has an agenda and isn’t going to let Smoke, Stack or anyone else get in his way, especially when he has a small army behind him.

Other cast include Helena Hu as Lisa Chow and Sam Malone as Terry, Saul Williams as Jedidiah, Andrene Ward-Hammon as Ruthie and David Maldonado as Hogwood.

SINNERS has the feel of the 1996 film DUSK TILL DAWN and the director is keenly aware of that. He has every reason to be proud of his script using southern history and mysticism as a catalyst for storytelling. Coogler sees directors Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema are an inspiration. Coogler says, “I’m excited to announce that SINNERS was captured on film, that’s a format I fell in love with when I was in film school.” Using a big-boy format, Coogler shot the film on two different large-film formats of Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX 65 film camera.

That means the film is being shown to audiences as big as the story itself. A running time of 137 minutes, there isn’t a moment that isn’t filled with the story becoming bigger and bigger with twists that are wrapped up in music. Coogler keeps the cinematography simple letting the story take over with a juke joint as a character itself. It is a protection wall between those inside and what’s outside. The cast is absolutely stellar as we learn about each character and the part they play in each other’s lives. All of that is important when it comes down to surviving the night.

SINNERS is a film requires patience as it unwraps. It is a combination of African American beliefs about music, bringing in Chinese culture, Native American culture (which really didn’t need to be there) and Irish folklore of their Abhartach or An Dearg Due. Using the background of the Jim crow south, there is a lot to take in on the screen. It is the cast that become the weavers of this complex story and it is stunning to watch them at work.

In the end – dance with the devil!

 

 

 

THE NORTH WATER is Chilling in the Tale

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on AMC+ from writer/director Andrew Haigh from the novel by Ian McGuire is the five-part television series THE NORTH WATER.

It is 1859 and Patrick Sumner (Jack O’Connell) is a surgeon who has joined the whaling vessel Volunteer. He watches the crew and particularly a man named Henry Drax (Colin Farrell). Drax is a ruthless man who has done heinous things so being part of the crew as the harpooner, he manages to avoid the law.

Sumner has his own past that he is trying to get away from and does so with bottles of laudanum. As they go further north to look for whales, Captain Brownlee (Stephen Graham) has made a deal with the company for what is to happen with the ship. Sumner also tries to help the whalers and discovers the dangers of the waters. On board, it is discovered that a cabin boy has been treated horribly and Sumner is not about to let it go.

Looking for the man responsible, Sumner’s eyes turn to Drax and with good reason and Brownlee meets the hostility of a crew member. The ship continues north even though the crew does not understand why. With the help of another ship, the Hastings, a plan is put into motion but, as with all evil plans, everything goes wrong. As the ship is in distress, the crew is abandoned on an ice shelf waiting for a good time to board the Hastings.

Cavendish (Sam Spruell) has taken charge but the next morning the Hastings is no where to be found. What is left of the crew boards the rowboats and try to find a pace to be safe. On a rock surrounded by ice mountains, the crew try to survive. When a pair of Inuit arrive, there is meat for everyone but Drax and Cavendish as always, want more. If things are not already bad, they are about to get worse.

As the others trek across the ice, Sumner follows a bear in hopes of having food. Another storm hits when he is discovered by a priest (Peter Mullan) who takes him in. The Inuit come to hunt with Sumner, and he begins to have a legendary name for himself. But Sumner has other plans and wants to get home.

Once home, he discovers the truth about the journey and decides to take care of it all once and for all.

McConnell as Sumner begins the series as a young man dealing with the injustices of war, greed and those who held his life in his hands. Taking the vessel surgeon job on the Volunteer was the only thing he had left in his life. It is on the journey that Sumner realizes that treachery can be found anywhere in the world, not just on the battlefield. McConnell is absolutely stunning in this role, and I loved every step he took from start to finish. The growth of the character came to be in good hands with this actor.

Farrell as Drax is out and out vicious, diabolical, deliberate and menacing. Keeping his character so hidden like a ragged harpooner added such depth to what this character was consistently doing to those around him. That being said, Farrell has the amazing ability to play an amazing, good person but when he goes bad, he truly goes full force bad. Drax is a full-on bad man who does not see anything wrong with what he does.

Graham as Brownlee is a man who is trying to find his own redemption in the whaling world and the only way to do that means committing a different kind of crime. Spruell as Cavandish, who starts out as friends with Drax, comes to see that there is no future in befriending the devil.

Shout out to Tom Courtenay as Baxter, the man responsible for setting into motion the events that put lives in danger, caused death and the eventual confrontation with Patrick Sumner. I have always been an avid watcher of Courtenay’s work and he continues to shine.

Other cast include Kieran Urquhart as Jones, Philip Hill-Pearson as McKendrick, Nive Nielsen as Anna, Jonathan Aris as Corbyn, Lee Knight as Stevens, Gary Lamont as Webster, Eliza Butterworth as Hester, Mark Rowley as Bain, Roland Moller as Otto and Tom Courtenay as Baxter.

AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched in June 2020. The service streams THE WALKING DEAD franchise as well as MAD MEN, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and currently THE NORTH WATERS. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.amcplus.com.

The five-part episodes include Behold the Man, We Men Are Wretched Things, Homo Homini Lupus, The Devils of the Earth and To Live is to Suffer.

THE NORTH WATER is a series you must binge watch. I could not stop and do not regret a moment of it. This is a series about what men do to one another, the reasons they do it (whether good or bad is indifferent to their reasons), the horror of what memories can push someone to and when you put it all in a mixing bowl, the results are disastrous.

The cast is amazing led by O’Connell as Farrell lies low in the background but never letting you forget he is there. The entire cast put their stories out to lead the story in different directions but never straying from the fact that the boat they are on is leading them to death. Using the barren lands of the Artic, there is nothing distracting the viewer from investing in every moment of Patrick Sumner’s experience.

In the end – the hunt will change!

The Story of the Actress Known as SEBERG

Jeri Jacquin

Coming soon from Amazon Original to Prime Video from director Benedict Andrews is the story of an actress who did not go with the grain named SEBERG.

It is the 1960s and hot off her success in director Otto Preminger’s film Saint Joan actress Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) finds equal success in the Jean-Luc Godard’s film Breathless. Returning to Hollywood preparing for an audition for the next film from her home in France, she says goodbye to a young son Diego (Gabriel Sky) and husband Romain Gary (Yvan Attal).

On the plane she sees a vocal skirmish between the flight attendant and Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie).  Getting off her plane she notices the group of civil rights leaders speaking to the press. She takes a moment to join the group raising her fist to symbolize black power and the press is there to take photos of it all.

Instantly taking notice of Jean at the airport are two FBI investigators, Jack Solomon (Jack O’Connell) and Carl Kowalski (Vince Vaughn) with photos of their own that start an investigation into her activities. Jack can’t discuss what he is doing with medical student wife Linette (Margaret Qualley) who doesn’t fit in with the FBI wives.

Jack and Carl begin surveillance on Jean sneaking into her home and bugging it. It doesn’t take long before they see and hear that Seberg starts an affair with the married Jamal. Wanting to find a way to make it work to their advantage, Jean refuses to stop associating or giving financial support to those working in the civil rights movement.

Jack realizes that as the investigation goes deeper, that Jean begins to show signs of stress fearing that she is being watched and listened in on in every aspect of her life. It continues for years as the COINTELPRO agents continue to create untrue stories about her to the point of despair.

This is a story of a time where only one rumor needs to be believed to ruin someone’s life.

Stewart as Seberg does an excellent job of portraying a woman who was living the life of a star without realizing that it only takes one thing to set her world on fire. A once vibrant woman is put through a ringer that takes away the light Hollywood once saw in her. Stewart portrays that from the very beginning to the very end. Her performance is one that I won’t soon forget, well done.

O’Connell as Jack is a man dedicated to his job but also sees that after time what they are doing to Seberg becomes brutal and unnecessary.  O’Connell’s character brings moments of sanity to an FBI doing insane things, especially by some of the others in the group. It is a solid performance and I cheered him at one point and so will you.

Vaughn as Kowalski is pretty much a vicious human being who has no problem being vocal about what everyone else in America is doing wrong. He feels it is his job to destroy anything that gets in the way of being a good American. He treatment of his own family is a perfect example of the unhinged attitude. Mackie as Jamal is taken with Seberg and does not think about the repercussions of his actions in the moment, but it becomes clear that he is surrounded by others who are not about to take what he is doing lightly. The relationship goes against what his group believes in every way.

Attal as Gary is a husband who isn’t about to make a scene learning that Jean is putting herself in danger. Trying to support her fears of surveillance, a decision must be made and it is not an easy one. Qualley as Linette is a wife who doesn’t fit into the stereotype of what an FBI wife should be. Learning that Seberg is the person her husband is investigating brings her own questions about his work. I was happy with Qualley’s moxy!

Other cast include Colm Meaney as Frank Ellroy, Zazie Beetz as Dorothy Jamal, Jade Pettyjohn as Jenny Kowalski, Ser’Darius Blain as Louis Lewis, James Jordan as Roy Maddow, Stephen Root as Walt Breckman, Celeste Pechous as Betsy Ellroy and Laura Campell as Mary Kowalski.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series.

SEBERG is a sad story of a life that is plagued in a time where nothing was off the table in the ways of the FBI. If a behavior was found un-American then the group found ways to destroy a person through surveillance, rumor, innuendo and using the press to do their dirty work. It was a time of intolerance in secret.

Jean Seberg may have looked like she had everything together on the outside (which is the goal of being a Hollywood starlet), but her personal life became a shamble. Filled with failed affairs, relationships, and marriages, it is not surprise that her death would be as mysterious as she was.

The cast of SEBERG truly bring her story together in 102-minute time and done so extremely well. The cinematography, sets and costuming lend itself to luring the viewer into the 1960s. Stewart’s performance tie it all together beautifully.

In the end – actress, activist and adversary!

TRIAL BY FIRE Questions Guilt

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director Edward Zwick and Flashlight Films comes the story of the secrets and lies with TRIAL BY FIRE.

It is 1992 and Todd Willingham (Jack O'Connell) is in a complicated and jealousy driven relationship with wife Stacy (Emily Meade). One morning after leaving for work, Todd wakes up to his children calling him. He notices immediately that the house is filled with smoke.

Trying to get to them he becomes overwhelmed with smoke. Running outside, Todd breaks windows still trying to reach his children but the fire causes an explosion.

Dealing with the death of their three children, Todd and Stacy are pulled over after the funeral to have him arrested for murder. The town's law enforcement have investigated the fire and come to the conclusion that Todd intentionally killed the children.

After a quick trial filled with testimony that is anger filled and no defense put in place for Todd, he is sentenced to the death penalty and sent to prison. 

Elizabeth Gilbert (Laura Dern) is a writer raising two teenagers while taking care of an ex-husband. A friend tells her about writing to prisoners and Todd lands in her life. She learns he has been in prison for twelve years awaiting execution.

Visiting him in prison, she learns about who Todd was when the incident happened and how he is now. After getting a copy of the trial she realizes that everything about it was a travesty. Todd's only other 'regular' relationship is prison guard Daniels (Chris Coy) who doesn't want to befriend a prisoner but can't seem to help himself.

As Todd comes closer to execution, Elizabeth races to find help from those who also see the wrongs and try to make them right before it is too late.

O'Connell as Todd is a man with anger and jealousy issues in his marriage. The one thing that even his wife can agree with is that Todd loves his children. While in jail that is all he can think about while trying to figure out how he got behind bars. O'Connell gives a startling performance with moments of somber realizations that how he has lived his life has set the stage for those who want to see the execution go through.

Dern as Elizabeth is a woman dealing with so many things in her life of which none have to do with her. Reaching out to Todd and getting to know him starts a friendship that is based on the truths they both tell.

Meade as Stacy is a woman who doesn't know how to do the right thing. Dealing with the death of her children she is constantly being pushed in all directions by family and law enforcement to agree with the verdict handed down to Todd.

Coy as Daniels tries from the moment Todd steps into the prison to dehumanize him. As the years go on, Daniels sees who this man really is and even finds himself enjoying Todd's company. He, like Elizabeth, want someone to save a changed man. 

Other cast include: Jade Pettyjohn as Julie Gilbert, Jeff Perry as Hurst, Jason Douglas as John Jackson, Wayne Pere as George Gilbert, Katie McClellan as Margaret Hays, Blair Bomar as Sandy and Rhoda Griffis as Darlene. 

TRIAL BY FIRE is not only the story of Todd Willingham but the story of Texas, law enforcement and even then governor Rick Perry. As each step progresses from the moment Todd is arrested to the films conclusion is aimed at added another notch to the execution belt of a state that seems to have the highest in the country. 

No one in the town Todd is from all the way up the ladder seemed interested in whether the truth was told or not. That's what I took away from the film the most - the lack of concern for the possibility that the law wasn't followed.

The cast constantly brings more and more questions to the forefront of the story as the film goes on which by the end had me totally and emotionally worn out. 

Another aspect of the film is watching Todd grow as a person realizing the mistakes he made in his life. The one thing that didn't change and perhaps actually grew was this man's love of his children. The film explores his realizations and the truth behind the tragedy. Is he really innocent?

TRIAL BY FIRE is directed by Academy Award winner Edward Zwick and adapted by Academy Award winner Geoffrey Fletcher from David Grann’s article Trial by Fire found in The New Yorker.

In the end - stand up for what is right and for what is true!