The Bloody Blues of 'Sinners'

Ryan Coogler slips a deliberate anachronism into an early scene of his new movie, Sinners. In 1932, on a back road near Clarksdale, Mississippi, two twins disagree over when they should open up their new juke joint. They’ve just bought a property from a shady good old boy, and Elijah “Smoke” Moore (Michael B. Jordan), brooding and cautious, wants to take a week to set it up. Smoke sports a watch and a newsboy cap, and he’s just as quick to cut a deal as he is to brandish a gun; he means business. The flamboyant and devil-may-care Elias “Stack” Moore (also played by Jordan), wearing a top hat and prone to showing off his gold teeth with a wide grin, points to the open Delta sky and tells his brother that their “For us, by us” nightclub was destined to come to life on such a beautiful day. Stack is the salesman, and his pitch, delivered with a downhome twang, wins his brother over: They move to open that night, setting into motion the bloody and bawdy story.