Oscar nominations are officially out, meaning for the next couple of months social media feeds will be saturated with debates over who and what is worthy of a statue. Leading that discussion is another Ryan Coogler masterpiece, this time “Sinners,” which is up for a record-breaking 16 awards, including best picture.
set in the Mississippi Delta during the Jim Crow era, the film is ofen characterized as a horror movie, which is understandable given the villain is a vampire. Though, what elevates “Sinners” beyond the gore — what makes it a delicious piece of past fiction — are the details woven into the story’s fabric. From the presence of the Indigenous Choctaw people to the segregated sides of the same street, Coogler paints a picture of 1930s America with a documentarian’s brush. In traditional horror movies, fright is centered and dialog is a backdrop. “Sinners” prioritizes the moment in time in which the fright occurs — both visually and sonically — making it as much a period piece as it is a movie with vampires in it.
How many Oscars “Sinners” will win is good fodder for all that social media debate. However, what is not debatable — in fact, what is painfully clear — is that Coogler made the best picture for our times. That’s as at its core “Sinners” is a story about belonging — both who does and who does not.there are no grand speeches about diversity undergirded by uplifting music. Instead, Coogler methodically reminds the audience that this country has always been a multiracial kaleidoscope by meticulously portraying life in America just a century ago.
The vampire Remmick is more then just an antagonist with fangs.
He is the immigrant son of an Irish man whose home
