When I saw that there was a western movie starring John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix as leads, I had to convince myself that I was still awake and it wasn't some sort of unconscious fantasy. Once I had done so, I had to cope with the fact that I was going to be watching the movie on a tiny screen in the back of someone else's airplane seat. I had a great time regardless.
In The Sisters Brothers, Reilly and Phoenix play the title characters who are a pair of dangerous gunslingers working for a cutthroat who sends them after a man who has reportedly stolen something very important. Don't expect too much spaghetti here - the story is less about the dangerous scenarios they encounter - there are a few - or the sordid details of their morally questionable employment, and much more about their dysfunctional familial relationships. This becomes more clear when you realize that most of the action is obscured and its effects are shown to be brutal but rarely lingered on (much like in You Were Never Really Here).
You could describe a film based on the literal course of events or based on your interpretation of what courses at its heart. If you'll allow me a bit of over-analysis, I'd describe the movie as the journey of one man to bring his long lost brother home. Its overall tone is darkly comedic, but with elements of action and drama as well.
The performances are all good, notably including other important characters played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. Besides the jarring accents (or lack of typical period accents) from the leads, I'd say there wasn't much I didn't like about this film. Recommend full-stop, especially for the ending which had me laughing obnoxiously on the plane.
I have watched this movie thrice more on proper hardware since that first plane ride, and I'll probably watch it again, if not for the laughs then for the obscured spectacle of the opening gunfight as brief fiery brilliance lights up the dark world of The West.
Content warning: graphic violence, language, sexual content, domestic abuse
Plot: 6
Characters: 7
Themes: 9
Spectacle: 8
Overall score: zero sisters out of two.
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