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, it’s 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 we’re introduced to Jake Gyllenhaal’s 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 hunter’s dream. Not long after, all four protagonists meet and the movie gets going, you’re cooking with gas and excited about life again.
You’re 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 it’s the weird flashbacks and unfinished asides that had me tilting my head.
We’re 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 it’s…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 you’re 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 you’re into that kind of thing.
In that way, I suppose, it’s a pretty honest look at life rooted in greed and class divide. You’ve got two brothers striving to be better people (as in Eli’s case) and form a life for themselves they’ve always wanted, but life in the 1850s makes it anything but easy.
Away from the grisly shoot outs, death and destruction, the film’s glowing conclusion does make you feel all warm and fuzzy (which makes you feel bad, in turn, for the previous boredom…) as we get to the core of true human yearning.
Still, would like to speak to someone about my unanswered questions…
The Sisters Brothers is in cinemas 5 April.
Got a showbiz story?
If you’ve got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: The Waking Dead: The Final Season Episode 4 review – Take Us Back
MORE: Does Dumbo fit in among Disney reboots as Tim Burton’s version takes flight?