Saints and Sinners

my thoughts on the new film by Ryan Coogler

Last night I finally saw Sinners, at the Regal Mall of Georgia IMAX up in Buford. Though it was Wednesday night, the theater was crowded. I can’t remember the last time I sat in a crowded movie theater in the middle of the week. It reminded me of Barbenheimer summer. The collective experience of seeing a movie together and being a part of a cultural conversation.

Lets me go ahead and get this out the way: the film really was excellent. I wasn’t sure if the movie would live up to the hype, since it’s been both a critical and commercial triumph. But it really does.

The cast led by Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, playing twins, was absolutely superb. That being said, Academy voters should see fit to give Delroy Lindo an Oscar nod. There are many great performances obviously, and I hope everyone gets nominated, but especially Lindo. Consider this my first Oscar endorsement of 2025. Delroy Lindo as Best Supporting Actor. Though there were many incredible moments in the film, there is this once scene in particular, and I don’t want to give too much away, where Lindo describes something horrific. This is without question one of my favorite cinematic moments and performances on screen. He delivered his dialogue with such a tremendous sense of tragedy and humanity, that it transcended the scene into something spiritual.

There is an August Wilson vibe to the film. Dare I say Wilsonian? The world they are able to create through the Blues, but also through their dialogue, reminded me of Wilson. If we are to create a Sinners film syllabus, lets also throw in Fences, Piano Lesson, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

It was also wild seeing Saul Williams in the film. During my college years, Saul Williams was a kind of Black artist “it boy,” or “that dude.” You know, THAT dude. We were all obsessed with his film Slam, and he was an early model for me of what it meant to be a kind of Black artist/intellectual. Seeing him in middle-age is heady.

I also want to think about Sinners along with Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. There have been a few think pieces about Black vampires, and I’m not sure where Lee’s vampire film, a remake of the 1973 film Ganja & Hess will land in terms of legacy. Of Black vampire films, if not the genre in general, history will likely elevate Sinners above them all. But I have maintained that Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is also a masterpiece. So I recommend that as well.

What are your thoughts about Sinners?