Just watched: Sinners (2025), a vibrant, violent, venereal Mississippi Delta vampire semi-musical with three different gospels vying for its protagonists’ devotion. (Hint: One gospel wins, and it ain’t the one accompanied by the little kids singing “This Little Light of Mine.”)
Written, directed, and produced by Ryan Coogler, who has clearly read and resonated with his Langston Hughes and James Cone. I leave The State Theatre grateful to him for sharing his deep, Renoirian regard for his people (actors and characters alike) and instilling in me real, hopefully non-patronizing affection for all his characters (’cept the Klansmen), as well as for him.
All of the above and a well-taken notice about cultural appropriation, but I’m still gonna go ahead and enjoy me some Van Morrison.