The Sisters Brothers

2018 Western

Rating: 15/20

Plot: The titular bounty-hunting duo chase down a guy for their boss, Rutger Hauer.

This darkly comic Western appeared on my "Most Anticipated Films" list earlier in the year, mostly because of the team-up of Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly. If you just close your eyes and imagine the kind of rapport these two would have, you'd probably come up with something very similar to what these two have together. They clash beautifully here, and without the use of any words, because words are for sissies in the Wild West, the feelings between these brothers is clear. Thankfully, this isn't as overtly comedic as I'd been led to believe, and the two actor's comedic timing and delivery work perfectly.

Like a lot of Westerns, this has a lot to do with changing times and shifting ideals. There's a clash between the kind of macho brand of shoot-first-ask-questions-later that was probably rampant in this neck of the woods in 1851 and all this newfangled science craziness with its chemistry and its climate change nonsense. That's interesting by itself, but Phoenix's character also seems to have a problem with language. There are several moments in this where Charlie Sisters seems agitated by the words that Jake Gyllenhaal's character uses.

These characters manage to be simple and complex at the same time. They're on a literal journey, but it also winds up being a metaphorical one as well. I don't know how I feel about where the pair end up in this movie, but the individual episodes that get them there sure are entertaining to watch.