The Sisters Brothers

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Finn S Apr 28, 2019 The Sisters Brothers (2018): 7 out of 10: Two brothers (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) with the surname Sister work for a gentleman called The Commodore (the always good to see Rutger Hauer in a brief role), their job is to protect and expand the Commodore's business empire in the mid-nineteenth century American west through the methods of murder, torture, and intimidation. It's a western. Yay. It's a revisionist western â" much less yay. The Sisters Brothers is, on the surface, an excellent film. As God as my witness however if I have to see one more revisionist western that seems not to realize that revisionist westerns have been a thing for the last eighty years; I am going to be forced to make ironic comments about the future while using a newfangled technology that is now part of our modern daily lives. You want to do something interesting make a regular straightforward western. That would be refreshing. The Good. There are large swaths of this film that work. The entire section in a town called Mayfield works so well one wants to cry out more of this, please. Tonally the movie does not go where you expect it to go. It is quite refreshing in that way. The Brothers Sisters is not a comedy despite some sharp one-liners here and there. The brothers' relationships, despite some carping about the characters below, really holds the movie together and elevates it over some of its contemporaries. The Brothers Sisters is also a very handsome production with an excellent cast and incredible set design. I was almost under the impression that they had wandered onto multiple sets of much more expensive movies. They recreate at least three frontier towns in The Sisters Brothers including an excellent and expansive San Fransico. You could have filmed a movie version of Red Dead Redemption 2 at the same time, and only the only thing you would be missing is the alligator swamp. The Bad: Joaquin Phoenix is the hot-headed impulsive brother that continually gets into fights and gets drunk to the point of passing out. John C Reily is the brother who wants to settle down and quit the life. As a whole their performances are excellent but through script contrivances each of them to have their moments. Reily gets it the worst by far. Here is the scene that still sticks in my craw. Now keep in mind this whole set-up is a one-off. Nothing that happens here has anything to do with the plot, doesn't reveal anything about the characters that had not yet been revealed and doesn't provide any entertainment on its own. The Brothers are in a saloon with prostitutes. Drunk wild brother Joaquin Phoenix has two hotties one on each arm and is getting blotto while quiet brother with a girl back home John C. Reilly drinks at the bar away from the ladies of the evening. But a girl catches Reilly's eye. She is uglier than the other prostitutes, a little chubby, and she seems shy hiding in the corner. He takes her upstairs, and they have a very awkward conversation which ends in the prostitute leaving in tears because Reilly is too gentle and kind to earn money from in exchange for sex. It feels like some Mary Sue self-insert fan fiction the middle of my revisionist western. I would love to say I have seen this done better before, but I haven't. Every time I have seen this scenario play out in film or other media it is always awful. The ye olde our hero too sensitive and wonderful to do any prostituting with. This is not how hookers work. This is not how they work now, this is not how they worked in the olde west, and this is not how they worked in biblical times. It simply is ridiculous on its face. The Ugly: If you love horses stay far away from this film. You have been dutifully advised. In conclusion: This is a good film. It's a hell of a lot better than some of its revisionist western contemporaries such as the Zellner Brothers 2018's Damsel. I enjoyed the movie and was surprised where it took me. I do wish the titular characters were less black and white and I also thought the entire enterprise had an air of pretension that did it no favors. Overall a good film. See more

Theodore G Apr 28, 2019 Thoroughly enjoyed Reilly and Phoenix' performances, with Gyllenhaal and Ahmed sporting genuine supporting performances, which were enhanced by the great chemistry they seem to have fostered during Nightcrawler (2014). I initially had doubts about the two leads' interactions with each-other, however they proved to be a great pair. The pacing could have been streamlined, particularly during the third act. Gyllenhaal's pseudo-English accent was also a little strange. Otherwise, good stuff. See more

Apr 25, 2019 This was a unforgettable movie it was a bit slow to start and I was a bit lost at first but once the dust settled I really liked it and it makes you feel very lucky to be living in modern day society with hospitals hotels and cars and a understanding of chemistry my god this film is harsh but that is the point of the film reminding us of harder times See more

Han R Apr 22, 2019 While the dialogue was interesting, the story just didn't do it for me.

George L Apr 14, 2019 Set in 1850s Oregon, this Western is essentially a story of two cowboys chasing after two other cowboys heading west across the continent. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix plays the infamous assassin brothers who's been tasked by their Commodore (a silent cameo by Rutget Hauer) to extract, by any means possible, a secret formula from Riz Ahmed's Hermann Kermit Warm, whom Jake Gyllenhaal's John Morris has already tracked down and befriended. Portrayed neither as heroes nor villains and punctuated by charming and humanizing moments such as their first encounter with a toothbrush, they come across foremost as flesh and bones characters who do not entirely buy into the usual Western cowboy stereotypes. Within this 4-hander, there are solid and captivating performances, particularly with a lighter and more engaging Phoenix having fun with his role, while Reilly continues, after Stan & Ollie, to find nuance and layers in his work away with Will Ferrell. However, credit is mostly due to French director and co-writer Jacques Audiard who manages to combine a neat and economically written script that actually gives us geographical and chronological precision, beautiful and cinematic photography of the barren landscape that they are engulfed in, fluid directing and a great sense of humour and compassion for his characters in order to tell a wonderfully human story, pure and simple. I must admit I'm not a fan of Westerns, but Audiard's playful yet thoughtful way with genre tropes is most refreshing and appealing. In a move that's unexpectedly deflating yet no less satisfying, he swaps a potentially violent showdown in the end for a poignant and moving montage that feels well-earned and right at home with this film's alternative but faithful take on the genre and proves the power of elegant storytelling at its best. See more

Apr 13, 2019 I loved this film. It's poignant, funny, sad, cruel and a great story. Beautifully filmed too.

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The Sisters Brothers

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