#sinners character analysis

[oneiric-wanderlust]

Above: "Alternative" Cut. Below: The Final Theatrical Cut.

Remmick's sadism & grief in the original script.

Many things were changed from the final theatrical cut of Sinners, such dialogue being removed or changed. Even though it was omitted, it still reveals a lot about the characters. One of the aspects of Remmick’s character that was toned down was, surprisingly, both his sadism and grief.  I know there was an alternative version of the scene floating around the internet, after he kills Bert “Oh, he's just resting.” The line was delivered in a more sinister, subtly malicious tone, and he even laughs and enjoys Joan's fear. In comparison to the final cut, where the line was delivered in a way that simply displayed Remmick’s casual disregard for human life. Another sadistic moment was when he taunted Sammie, telling him to come save Pearline as she was dying.  They also toned down Remmick’s raw display of grief, passion and emotion in the Rocky Road to Dublin sequence, and focused mostly on his excitement and upped the eeriness of assimilated patrons of Club Juke into his vampiric hivemind cult. In the original script, he was crying during the sequence, because he was “overcome with emotion” because “it’s an experience he hasn’t had in centuries.” He felt “unencumbered by the stunting shackles of the colonial gaze.” It’s an interesting contradiction: the passionate grief and emotion, displays of the humanity he has buried underneath centuries of being a vampire, humanity that he so desperately clinging to, like his old community Ireland that’s long gone, while his sadism is the vampiric side that enjoys killing, consuming blood, and terrorizing, because ultimately, he has been a vampire longer than he has been human. Ironically in Remmick’s efforts to try to grasp what little pieces of his humanity he has left, the more monstrous he becomes, by forcefully converting others to vampirism, passing on the curse of being cut off from their ancestors, as he was. I still wonder what drove Ryan to tone down this aspect of Remmick's character in the final cut.

[oneiric-wanderlust]

The Smokestack Twins, and Sammie’s music. 

One of the things I find interesting is the Smokestack Twins, and their different reactions to Sammie’s musical talent. Stack is amazed by Sammie’s talent, but also sees an opportunity to make money. Smoke, on the other hand, acknowledges Sammie’s talent, but discourages him from playing the blues, and instead insists that he play church music, and even threatens him if he doesn't stop. I found it interesting because Smoke is undoubtedly a staunch capitalist. To him, money is power. He teaches a little girl to negotiate for a higher price, tells Annie that her currency can’t be spent anywhere, and seems to be ready to rough up an old man who can’t pay for some corn liquor. Stack is willing to cut the community of sharecroppers some slack, they work hard and deserve to play hard, even if they can’t necessarily afford it. Smoke not so much. To him, this is business. He doesn’t care, if they can’t afford it, that’s their problem. “I ain’t never saw no roots, no demons, no ghosts, no magic. Just power, and only money can get you that.”-Smoke. “We takin cash U.S motherfuckin’ dollars.”-Smoke. Make no mistake, Stack loves money. The Juke Joint was his idea. He buys a Sawmill from a Klansman. When Smoke says they should postpone, Stack rejects this and says they have to open that night. Stack seems to be a bit more understanding of economic inequality and the people side of business, building emotional appeal, he's more lenient with the patrons. Excited after Sammie belts out a tune, Stack is excited about Sammie’s talent. He sees his music being a profitable act at Club Juke. “We gon’ make some money!”-Stack. The twins paid Hogwood in cash, yet he still planned to murder them, as he had purchased a "killing floor". This would be implied to be a scheme that Hogwood was running. Ironically, at the end of the film, when Hogwood offers Smoke money in exchange to spare his life, Smoke kills him. Smoke was dying, whatever money Hogwood tried to offer him, was essentially useless and had no power over him, and it didn't protect Hogwood. 

Ryan Coogler had an interesting take on the Twins and Club Juke.

He nods to the premise of the juke joint, a place where Smoke and Stack could build wealth off of their community’s need for release. “It’s not the vampires doing that; the vampire is not charging anybody money for a feeling,” he says. “I was very interested in the twins. If the vampires never showed up, who are the vampires in this movie? Who was the first person to recognize Sammie’s gifts and see some money? Who’s scary? Who’s everybody afraid of in this movie?-Ryan Coogler, Rolling Stone.

[oneiric-wanderlust]

The Smokestack Twins & Adam Moore.

CW: discussion of child abuse.

The contrast between the twins' view of their father, Adam Moore, says a lot. Stack says that his father Adam used to beat him mostly, but follows up with “But. He ain't mean it.” As opposed to Smoke, who says Adam was hateful and wanted to kill Stack the day he was born, and how Stack “don’t know shit.” I wonder if deep down Stack blames himself for his mother’s death, so he either rationalized his father’s hatred of him, it may have been too painful to realize his father hated him for it and wanted to kill him, so he had to lie to himself, or maybe he truly didn't believe that his father hated him, his judgement of Adam was clouded. In contrast to Smoke, who can see situations and people clearly. When he loses Stack, he says, “Best thing about me was him.” He is under no illusion about who he is. No doubt Smoke had a higher kill count than Stack in WWI and Chicago Underworld. What’s interesting about Stack is that he’s a smooth talker whose good at persuading people, yet his fatal flaw is that he doesn’t seem to be able to see people as clearly as Smoke. I wonder if Smoke gave Stack shit for trying to do business with a Klansman, was hesitant and felt obligated to watch out for his younger brother, and protect him. Stack also implied that he was going to see what was up with Remmick, Joan and Bert on his own before Mary offered to do it instead. That’s why Smoke was deadly serious when he told Sammie that Stack doesn't know how to watch his own back.  The twins different perceptions of Adam Moore are interesting and provide insight into the characters.

[oneiric-wanderlust]

This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Sammie, clutching his guitar after leaving his father and the church behind, to eventually become a blues legend. He defied both Jedediah’s demand to drop his guitar and leave blues music behind, and Smoke to stop playing at Juke Joints, and play church music, trying to convince him to live a life of respectability in Mound Bayou. 

Yet Sammie's heart and soul are with his music. He used it to express love for his father, the blues, his complex relationship with Christianity, while living in the Jim Crow American South, which must have tested his faith every day. The blues brought him and the community joy, healing. He continued to play it, even if it put him at risk of attracting supernatural evil.