Directed by Jacques Audiard
Written by Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain, based on the novel by Patrick DeWitt
Cast: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rutger Hauer, Carol Kane, Rebecca Root, Ian Reddington, Richard Brake, Allison Tolman, Creed Bratton
Soundtrack: Alexandre Desplat
Another week, another pleasant surprise (and another cameo from Richard Brake).
A darkly comic yet also deadly serious film, the trailer I saw for The Sisters Brothers (which is not the one attached to the above poster) highlighted the comedy more so than the dark, which is a bit misleading. To be fair, there are a number of laughs throughout the film, but, while I would not compare it in overall style or tone, in many ways it’s as ruthless and frank as another recent western, that being Scott Cooper’s Hostiles.
Still, the movie is of a quality worthy of comparison to the upper-mid-tier works of the Coen Brothers, as well as Martin McDonagh’s brief filmography, as while it may be brutal at times, it certainly does not lack in humanity.
If I have any two criticisms, for one, I was rather confounded by Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance (maybe his accent is actually completely period appropriate and I’m just ignorant, but it just seemed stilted to me), and, secondly, Alexandre Desplat’s score didn’t feel quite right, either as a reflection or a juxtaposition.
Other than that though, John C. Reilly (who also has a producer credit) and Joaquin Phoenix are absolutely terrific as the titular brothers, and Riz Ahmed, though not at first, eventually threatens to steal the movie outright.
Lastly, one rather fun aspect of the film is the characters finding amazement and bewilderment at things that are not only commonplace, but completely taken for granted in contemporary American society. In a time when many people casually long to have been born in another time and/or place, these moments are a stark reminder of how harsh merely existing used to be in this country.
Despite its coarse nature, I very much enjoyed The Sisters Brothers and definitely found myself surprised at how heartfelt it is.
And I loved that it literally started with a bang (a number of them, actually).
Rating: ★★★★☆