Sinners: What is the Oscar record-breaking film all about?
Vampire drama Sinners has made Oscars history, becoming the first film to achieve 16 nomination at the awards.
Vampire drama Sinners has made Oscars history, becoming the first film to achieve 16 nomination at the awards, but what is it all about?
Directed by Ryan Coogler, the writer of Marvel’s Black Panther, Sinners has seen Michael B Jordan pick up a nod in the leading actor category, and British-Nigerian star Wunmi Mosaku nominated for the best supporting actress – as it beat the previous record of 14 nods held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
– What is the film about?
Sinners follows two identical twins and First World War veterans Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore, both played by Jordan, as they return to Clarksdale, Mississippi, after spending seven years in Chicago.
The twins start a juke joint for the local black community, but they soon come under attack from a group of vampires and the Ku Klux Klan.
The story is directly inspired by the legend of Mississippi blues musician Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads in return for fame and fortune.
– Who is in it?
Sinners stars Jordan in its two lead roles, while Mosaku plays Annie, Smoke’s estranged wife.
True Grit (2010) star Hailee Steinfeld plays Mary, Stack’s ex-girlfriend, while musician Miles Caton makes his film debut as Samuel “Sammie” Moore, the twins’ cousin, which has seen him nominated for the Bafta Rising Star Award, legendary bluesman Buddy Guy also appears in the film as an elderly Sammie.
British-born actor Delroy Lindo plays Delta Slim in the movie.
– What are Sinners’ 16 nominations?
Jordan, Mosaku and Lindo have been nominated for acting roles, the film itself is nominated for casting, cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), costume design (Ruth E Carter), editing (Michael P Shawver), and make-up and hairstyling.
Coogler is nominated for best director and writing, Ludwig Goransson is nominated for best original score and the film’s song I Lied To You is nominated for best original song.
Sinners is also nominated for best picture, production design, sound, and visual effects.
– What do the reviews say?
Sinners received strong reviews on its release, with The Hollywood Reporter describing it as “rule-defying”, while Rolling Stone said it was “messy but rollicking”.
The Guardian said the film could “do without the supernatural element”, but called it “spectacular if more-than-faintly hubristic”.
Esquire praised the movie for its “urgent rumination on race, past misdeeds and unhealed wounds”, summing it up as “faithfully superb”.
– Which awards has Sinners already won?
At the Golden Globe Awards earlier this month, Sinners scooped the awards for best original score, won by Goransson, and for cinematic and box office achievement, it also received a number of nominations at the awards including best director for Coogler and best actor in a drama film for Jordan.
It has also picked up gongs at ceremonies including the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, US National Society Of Film Critics awards, and the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle.
