andrewroy-04316 Review of The Sisters Brothers

The Sisters Brothers (2018)

While extremely different tonally from the book, The Sisters Brothers is a methodical character study of a brotherly relationship

[7/10 · 17 November 2019]

It certainly wasn't the movie I expected given the book, but The Sisters Brothers has four great characters at its core and is a great unpredictable subversive modern Western. While the book was more comedic and violent, with a fast pace, the movie is much slower and focused on building up the four main characters, and especially the brothers. Reilly stole the show for me in showing the empathetic, thoughtful brother who struggles to balance his brotherly duties with his role as an assassin. I loved the background and nuance of the brother's relationship, in showing how their father shaped them and whether they kill out of necessity or by their nature. The ending was very strong, subverting expectations of killing the Commodore and reaching some agreement or separation, and instead going back home. The cinematography of the final scenes at home was gorgeous. The scenes are well put together, with a balance of emotion and humor, but it is quite slow moving and doesn't have any big messages or symbols hidden. I think the more someone was familiar with the Western genre and wanted a subversive character driven western story, the more they'd like it. Good, contemplative movie with good characters and performances from four great actors.