Amid the flurry of films competing for recognition at the end of the year, there are usually a few high-quality efforts that get lost in the fray for one reason or another. Last year, Wind River was an excellent film that got completely snubbed, and subsequently buried, because it was produced by the Weinstein Company. The Killing of A Sacred Deer was a masterfully crafted, Kubrickian, psychological thriller that was just too strange to really get a foothold. Both were easily two of the better films made during 2017 but neither of them left the kind of industry footprint they potentially could have. As remarkable a film as The Sisters Brothers is, I fear it may be destined to wind up on this year’s forgotten heap.
I’m not shy about my affinity for Westerns but this was an atypical one; I mean that in the most flattering way possible. It’s funny and dark, hopeful and bright, deep and light-hearted. A wonderfully strange and beautifully bizarre adventure tale set during the early days of the gold rush era in 1851. An infamous pair of killers is sent to track down a chemist with an idea that could change the landscape of the gold business forever. This relatively straightforward Western plot is based on the book of the same name by Patrick Dewitt but what made this story special was the depth of the characters and the unconventional roles they played in the narrative. The personal diversity created a wickedly smart undercurrent of humor that’s both natural and authentic, without ever feeling forced or out of context. Dewitt only had one adaptation made of his work in the past (Terri 2011), coincidentally starring John C. Reilly, so this was a big moment for Dewitt and finding the right person to harness the vision was a crucial step in successfully adapting the story for the screen.
By all accounts, Jacques Audiard is an incredibly talented director. I won’t pretend to have seen any of his previous work but all his films have been well received and his movie, A Prophet (2009), was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. Rotten Tomatoes scores usually aren’t indicative of a film’s overall quality but all of his directorial films carry IMDB scores over 7.0, and that is crazy impressive. All of his films have bold and vivid characters with passionately unique and human stories and that made him the right choice for this project. For this film, Audiard also co-wrote the screenplay with Thomas Bidegain and did an absolutely phenomenal job bringing these incredibly rich characters to life on the big screen. Each of them is so different from the next, it took serious attention to detail and writing chops to craft the kinds of scenes you’ll see here. Beautifully simple and subtle character foundation, that’s overlooked far too often these days, did wonders for this story. The seemingly innocuous use of a toothbrush or taking notes in a journal, the folding of a handkerchief, added crucial layers of personality to each character and that investment paid off brilliantly down the line. Beyond those integral screenplay cues, the dialogue between the four main characters tackles some serious existential questions you’d never see in a conventional Western. Thanks to the developmental investment on the front end, the characters are able to have these real, poignant conversations with one another you wouldn’t expect. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look no further than the exceptional cast that signed on to this project to tell you exactly how good this script was. Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director are both within reach.
Naturally, Francine Maisler was once again the wizard behind the curtain pulling the casting strings for another wonderful movie. All of the primary performances were extraordinary, but John C. Reilly was the front man. He’s always been featured as mostly a comedic actor but, while his sense of humor and comedic timing served him well here, this was a strong dramatic turn for an actor who has always shown signs that he was capable of more challenging roles. His character, Eli, is the older of the two Sisters Brothers but he’s stuck between a successful life as a hired gun and longing for retirement. He doesn’t get any of the normal older brother benefits and watching Reilly unravel that complex ball of yarn is a wonderful journey into a complicated character. His performance was finely grained with intricacy and genuine care. He will likely get overshadowed for Best Actor nominations, but his portrayal deserves recognition and should earn him more dramatic opportunities down the line. One way or another, whether it’s this movie that does it or not, 2018 is going to be a big year for Reilly with Ralph Breaks the Internet and Holmes & Watson due out before the end of the year and Stan & Ollie on the way soon after.
It’s already been a big year for the incomparable Joaquin Phoenix. He’s now appeared in two of my favorite films this year (You Were Never Really Here) and plays Reilly’s primary sparring partner throughout the majority of the film. As the younger brother, Charlie, there’s a natural sibling rivalry that’s in place but the breadth of the space between the brothers is so vast on many different levels. There’s so much intensity behind his eyes as a performer and it played really well when the audience needed to witness just how haunted Charlie really is. He chooses to deal with his pain by drinking…a lot…but it was nice to see Joaquin get to cut loose and have a bit more fun with a character than usual. His portrayal was exceptional and should garner praise and awards attention in the Best Supporting Actor category. His consistency and role selection have given him the ability to command attention and, if nothing else, he’s certainly near the top of my leaderboard for both Best Actor and Actor of the Year.
Even though the Sisters Bros. are obviously the primary focus of the film, there were substantial and important supporting roles for Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. Jake was playing a detective of sorts, John Morris, who is tasked with apprehending the rogue chemist and handing him over to the brothers for “questioning”. Morris is caught between a rock and a hard place, forced to make a decision with his gut that alters the course of his life. Gyllenhaal did a remarkable job grappling with his conscience on screen and, while his performance here isn’t the type to get him into Oscar territory, it was a testament to the consistent quality and professionalism he brings to every role. He has continually established himself as absolutely one of the best actors in the business right now but somehow hasn’t even gotten an Oscar nomination since Brokeback Mountain…13 years ago; that’s ridiculous.
This was a reunion of sorts for Ahmed and Gyllenhaal. They worked opposite one another in the highly underrated Nightcrawler and Ahmed plays the aforementioned chemist Jake’s character is tracking down here. He possesses a quiet, but potent, natural charisma which is fully on display and the pair have a chemistry that’s really great to watch. Their character development, together, works really well in juxtaposition to that of Reilly and Phoenix. Once the four of them get together, the intrapersonal dynamics are excellent and all of them get to shine. Ahmed is having a big year as well, having starred opposite Tom Hardy in Venom, and has a very bright future.
Benoît Debie is not a household name and the only thing I have ever seen of his was the psychedelic, drug-induced journey through life and death called Enter the Void. As creative as some elements of that film were, there was no indication he had such a keen eye for natural scenery. In this instance, even if you were to subtract the excellent performances, Debie provided some gorgeous landscape cinematography that captured all the expansive majesty of the Western frontier…beautiful, sprawling mountains and breathtaking blue skies. Oddly enough, in order to achieve these incredible shots, the film was shot on location in Spain, Romania, and France. It made for some fantastic B-roll shots that helped connect the plot pieces and set the stage for some phenomenal original music.
When you have two-time Oscar winner (The Shape of Water and Grand Budapest Hotel) and nine-time nominee Alexandre Desplat composing the music for your film, you’re in really good hands. Quite simply put, the original music was amazing; so uniquely paired with the Western theme and imagery. Tense uptempo piano dominated the sound earlier on but gave way to more conventional string instruments you’d hear in most Westerns down the stretch. The compositions were matched up so incredibly well with the visual storytelling style and enriched the on-screen experience so much, it would be a shame if Desplat wasn’t looking down the barrel at another nomination for Best Original Score.
Many Westerns glamourize the period and fashion, fetishizing it to a certain extent (think Westworld) but there was a gritty, earthy realism throughout the film. Michel Barthélémy had worked with Audiard before on several films and painted a bleak and dirty picture that still managed to portray a great deal of hope. The set design by Angela Nahum and Milena Canonero’s costume design served to highlight all of the minute differences between the characters and reflect their personality types in contrast to one another. It was a subtle but important role the wardrobes played and, hopefully, that gets recognized by more than just me.
This movie was very strong in all facets of filmmaking. It was very smartly put together from the top down but is probably going to go over overlooked by most people. It’s long, there’s a lot of dialogue and it defies its own genre. However, sometimes you just know something special when you see it. For my money, this was very clearly one of the top-5 films of the year so far and a would-be contender for Best Picture. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to go mostly unseen.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Westerns or just the craft of filmmaking in general, then you have to see this movie. The performances definitely lead the way but this was a film that excels at being what you don’t expect it to be. It’s much heavier psychologically than many of its contemporaries and that’s a great thing. The R-rating is appropriate but it’s a soft R with a big heart.