The Sisters Brothers

Starring: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rebecca Root, Allison Tolman, Rutger Hauer, Carol Kane, Creed Bratton, Johannes Haukur Johannesson
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Western
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The Sisters Brothers (John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix) hunt down two men (Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed) whom crossed their employer.

Review:

Tim: The most noteworthy thing about The Sisters Brothers is what an unconventional Western it is. I've seen dozens and dozens of Westerns and none of them are quite like this. I'm sure the book put it on a different path, but Jacques Audiard's screenplay and direction certainly ensured this would be a unique film. The story never follows the expected path. Indeed, it often feels like it intentionally chooses the least obvious path forward. It's refreshing to see such a different movie, but it's also hard to pin down a film that subverts expectations so much. I enjoyed this movie.

The film's strengths start with the cast. It was great to see John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Sisters Brothers (and by the way, the movie doesn't really milk their last names for laughs nearly as much as I expected). These two men are both talented actors and can play drama and comedy equally as well. It was fun seeing them in these roles. There were many scenes where their familiarity with each other felt like I was watching actual brothers. Their characters are odd- they exist somewhere between "good" and "bad". They are our protagonists, but for long stretches of the film, we kind of like supporting characters more. However, these two never fully embrace their dark side and become outright villains. They move in the gray area, which was fun to see. Reilly and Phoenix are both big reasons why this movie works so well.

I've always been a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, but it's only increasing year after year. He continues to choose unexpected roles like this one. Like the others already mentioned, it's an odd role. When the film started, I assumed he was playing an antagonist. I quickly realized I was wrong and I felt so intrigued by his character and performance. This isn't close to his best work, but it was an interesting, engaging performance regardless. There were a few scenes between Gyllenhaal and Phoenix that I loved- the chance to see two of the younger generation's most talented actors sharing the screen was an absolute delight. I really wish they had more screen time together. Riz Ahmed rounds out the cast, and he gives one of the best performances of the film. He is quietly becoming an actor to watch and further adds to his resume with his role here. It was great fun watching him interact with Gyllenhaal and Reilly. I really enjoyed his performance.

I'm trying to think about how to discuss the story without revealing too much. It's hard to even describe what this film is about, as it felt like that shifted so many times. The early scenes are like the typical Western gunfighter story. Then, we enter into these chase sequences that are reminiscent of the Western manhunts we've seen before. And just as we feel like we have a grasp on the story, it completely shifts under our feet and it becomes a gold prospecting story. We feel like we know where that's going to go, but that abruptly changes again. Finally, we suspect it's a Western revenge story in the end. And yet, it once again plays with our expectations in the most unexpected ways. It's so hard to even wrap my mind around what happens in this film.

Now, as much as I enjoyed The Sisters Brothers, it did have some flaws. I can't say I loved any of the characters as much as I should have. They weren't quite memorable enough. Western films have given us some unforgettable pairings, but that doesn't quite happen here. They're good, solid, but not quite as amazing as they needed to be. I thought the cinematography was good, but the best Westerns often have truly jaw-dropping camera work. The action scenes are good, but I've had to fight biting my nails in other Western action sequences. That doesn't happen here. The movie deserves a huge amount of credit for its story, but otherwise, it does very little that we haven't seen done better elsewhere.

I do want to stress that I still very much enjoyed The Sisters Brothers. It was a tad too long at 2 hours, 2 minutes, but it was so different than what I expected. It features four strong actors giving good performances and it certainly gives us something we don't see very often. This might be an "odd" Western, but it's a good one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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