Sinners is a multitude of universes contained within one another. Each and every one of them opens like a Russian doll to reveal the other. It’s a neo-Western. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Southern Gothic. It’s a dark fairytale from the twisted minds of the Grimm Brothers, not the sugar-coated Disneyland. But it’s also partly a music film, about the power of art and how religion vilifies it. In this horror flick, the costumes tell the story about culture, about race, but also about music. The color gradients in every character’s costume navigate the tale and intertwine some of the magic within it.
Everyone is haunted by a particular demon in Sinners. Mary’s (Hailee Steinfeld) mixed-race heritage. Delta Slim’s (Delroy Lindo) drinking. Sammie’s (Miles Caton) torn between religion and music. The Moore twins’ (Michael B. Jordan) need for power and land. But it’s the demon of music that cracks the gates between the past, present, and future, calling out to lost dark souls—those drawn to the world’s evil as much as to art. Aren’t art and darkness like two horses running side by side? Ryan Coogler weaves a dark, magical world where the lines between creativity and horror blur, as the true power of blues music calls to nasty, bloodsucking creatures of the dark, led by the enigmatic Remmick (Jack O’Connell).
Legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter took over the daunting task, creating a 1930s Mississippi period-accurate ensemble of hats, sequins, workwear, watch chains, and fringes. She ensured the use of minimal color gradients. But she also had to create the sexiest set of costumes, which, when under the moonlight, or in the heat of the juke joint would glisten against people’s sweaty, frantic dancing bodies. It’s not just that the costumes are period accurate, and match the characters’ economic and racial backgrounds (Carter had a strict no purses or jewelry rule for the women) but they perfectly fit different body types but they also have the distinction of properly fitting the body or not. The worn out, aged, and battered looks of some of the outfits suits the characters who mostly come from working class backgrounds, and find that immediate relief in the juke joint where they can drink and dance their weariness away.
The beauty of Sinners is that it has women of all sizes, shapes, and forms. Wunmi Mosaku’s curvaceous, voluptuous body had to have clothes that anchored her to this ever-evolving world. Creating a constant in a whirlwind of a world. Carter dresses Mosaku’s Annie in her silk skirt with sequins and fringes, feathered headband, and her mojo bag. Despite being a vampire, she works with O’Connell to create Remmick’s sinister, decaying look. He doesn’t stand out in his costumes or his looks, and his workman outfit is not as worn out as the regular folks at the joint, but it carries this air of simplicity and blending in that makes him seep into the cracks of the other characters, as his vampiric manipulative self. Costumes couldn’t get in the way of the magnetism of the story’s main villain.
Carter contrasts Annie’s robustness and savviness with Mary’s fragility. She creates an ethereal haze for her, a sultry existence with her faded pink outfits. She is a tragic character, and that easily slip on dress makes her even more fragile and heartbreaking, drifting from one case of unbelonging to the other. Her contrast to Stack’s immaculate red hat, collar and tie bars, slanted pockets, cuff links, and bright burgundy shoes. He’s a smoke show and smug about it. She’s a smoke show of unbearable lightness of fragility. That’s why they click. Carter gives them that fire and ice contrast to make their dance scene at the juke joint even more impactful.
But the real scene stealer is the juke joint-montage scene, with years of black heritage and music culture blending into one, long sequence of past and present musical and dance influences shaking it side by side. Carter proves her mastery by orchestrating that scene, from custom Adidas Gazelles, to Zulu masks, and feathered headdresses. There are all kinds of influences from hip hop to blues, rock and roll to tribal music.It’s common knowledge that Sinners will lead the WB award campaigns. With its impeccable cinematography, innovative and masterful directing, solid acting especially from the supporting cast -Delroy Lindo we will manifest it for you!- and the best soundtrack of a film I’ve listened to this year. But costume design should be a solid nod (if not a win as far as one can see with the festival movies not making an entrance yet). What Carter has done with the universe of this film is create a cacophony of mismatched characters that strangely make total sense in the same mise-en-scène. Costumes stand out but are also drenched in blood and battered, so it’s not a period piece that celebrates its authentic style and beauty a la Crimson Peak and Co. but more of a slice of life in the 1930s Mississippi, told through a lamenting blues song. Coogler directs while Carter orchestrates the execution, adding the final touch to the characters. And boy does she succeed!
