The Sisters Brothers review: John C Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix saving grace of star-studded Western
With a star-studded cast in John C Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed, The Sisters Brothers scouts high expectations from the get go.
Like, you really, really want to like this.
Based on the novel of Patrick DeWitt, the big screen adaptation of two assassin brothers in 1850s Oregon has so much to give – but has left me with a few* unanswered questions.
*so, so many questions.
With stunning scenery, shot in the mountains of Spain and Romania, its a feast for the eyes, sure, but its meandering first act lost me big time.
Aside from a whole heap of horse riding, saloons and bickering to-and-fros between Charlie Sisters (Phoenix) and his more sensible brother Eli (Reilly), the first 40 minutes are spent piecing together fresh stories and momentary characters you never see or hear of again.
Soon were introduced to Jake Gyllenhaals well-to-do John Morris and Riz Ahmed as prospector Hermann Kermit Warm, a man with a trick up his sleeve in the form of a gold hunters dream. Not long after, all four protagonists meet and the movie gets going, youre cooking with gas and excited about life again.
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Youre now rooting for Charlie and Eli – all four, to be honest – as we ride with the boys from Oregon to Mayfield, onto gold rush-era California, and San Francisco. Petticoats a-plenty.
Reilly is a treasure and adds an element of comedic charm and warmth to a depressing-at-times narrative (and, frankly, a perfect match alongside joker Phoenix as well), but its the weird flashbacks and unfinished asides that had me tilting my head.
Were given slight ideas into the past and backstories of these lads we feel we should take mental note of, that never went anywhere. For instance, the opening starts with a shootout, a family murdered. But who were the family, why were they killed, why are we seeing this? This is never revisited and its…weird; unnecessary.
See, questions: I got em.
Just when you think you may be onto a massive plot point and become invested, it all comes to an end and youre onto the next wayward scenario.
At the premature climax of one particular conflict, one theatre-goer next to me summed it up pretty perfectly: Well that was fast.
Slow-moving scenes are juxtaposed with the grit of an old timey tale: a whole bunch of literal brain-splattering (the 1800s sure liked its shotguns), bar fights and bloody boozing. It does add an element of excitement. You know, if youre into that kind of thing.
In that way, I suppose, its a pretty honest look at life rooted in greed and class divide. Youve got two brothers striving to be better people (as in Elis case) and form a life for themselves theyve always wanted, but life in the 1850s makes it anything but easy.
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