Call it women’s intuition. Though Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers who open a juke joint in 1932 Mississippi, the film also features a stellar supporting cast. That includes a quartet of women, all deeply realized characters, who bring the heart and humanity to the genre hit. And they knew they were doing something exceptional.
Li Jun Li admits she had an “inkling” upon reading the script, particularly “when I reached the musical montage.” Wunmi Mosaku was sure of it on set. “We kept checking in with each other, saying, ‘Does this feel as special to you as it feels to me?’” she reveals. Jayme Lawson knew it for sure on opening weekend, noting, “I thought it might take more time — it was Good Friday, and I wondered who would go to see a quote-unquote horror film on Easter? But it was instant. People were clutching onto it the way we felt when we read it.” And Hailee Steinfeld had her beliefs confirmed as she watched people go to see it again and again. “It was exciting to see people really grasp the depth of the project. Each time you pick up on something different. There’s so much going on with this film.”
“Sinners” made more than $367 million worldwide in its theatrical release, but its impact goes beyond box office. The film delves deeply into life’s biggest questions around community, history, oppression, music and spirituality — disguised on the surface as an action-packed vampire pic. “It’s a testament to Ryan’s genius, his ability to tell this rich story through this stew of everything,” says Li. “You can’t categorize it under one thing.” Still, the actor admits to being surprised when people would send her proof of their adoration. “I had people sending me photos of their 42 ticket stubs,” she reveals. “There were so many, all laid out on their sofa or bed.”
Not to mention Halloween costumes, rampant fan theories and, of course, those TikToks, particularly the ones reliving one of Steinfeld’s iconic (and unprintable) lines. Asked if she could have ever predicted the response to that, and the Oscar-nominated actor laughs. “No, you don’t — you can’t — it’s always so wild to see what takes off. That’s what was exciting: seeing the reactions to it.”
Najeebah Al-Ghadban for Variety
Girl Power
In an era where women’s roles in mainstream media often feel underwritten, it’s a joy to see no less than four complicated, specific female voices in a single movie. These women are no wallflowers — they declare what they want and pursue it, society’s norms be damned.
“These roles are few and far between,” says Steinfeld, who plays Mary, the white-passing former girlfriend of Jordan’s twin Stack. Though Stack waffles on their relationship, believing she deserves a better life, Mary never wavers. The actor notes that in addition to the women in front of the camera, there were many behind the scenes as well, from costume designer Ruth E. Carter to producer Zinzi Coogler to executive music producer Serena Göransson. “We had so many women with pivotal roles in this, and Ryan was the first to say it wouldn’t have been what it was without them.”
Lawson also offers high praise to Coogler. Lawson plays Pearline, a strong-willed, married singer that catches the eye of twins’ cousin Sammie, played by Miles Caton. “Directors can only operate from a place of what they know,” she says. “And a lot of times you’ll see women of color written in a way that is very performative. But this is a man who has an actual investment in relationships with the women in his life — and that is seen as much off the screen as it is seen on the screen.”
Mosaku plays Annie, the partner of Jordan’s Smoke, and a hoodoo practitioner who became estranged from Smoke after the death of their child. In addition to calling the shots in battling the vampires, it’s Annie who never hesitates in her resolve — making her husband vow to kill her if she’s turned by the enemy. “Ryan leaves no character unfinished,” she notes. “Even the smaller roles will feel like they had a full journey.”
As an example, she points to a scene in which Smoke pays a little girl, played by Aadyn Encalarde, to guard his truck while he goes inside a shop. “She is my favorite character,” Mosaku raves. “You have a full journey from this little girl pulling petals who doesn’t know how to barter to someone who stands up to a criminal and says, ‘Bullshit.’ In two minutes, she’s grown more than most characters in an entire movie and that’s the kind of clarity and specificity Ryan fills the characters with.”
Li plays Grace, an Asian woman who runs a local shop with her husband and young daughter, and points to how the film even starts off with a strong woman calling the shots: Lola Kirke’s soon-to-be-vampire Joan. “The minute she opens the door, and she cocks that rifle, I just thought that was such a badass moment,” Li reveals. “All these women have these amazing moments.”
While Li knows that’s how movies should be, she admits that even she was caught off-guard by this new normal. “I am guilty of having been so conditioned to play women in almost a submissive manner that I found myself doing it on set,” she reveals. “And Ryan would say, ‘No, let’s turn this around; she’s making a decision.’ And I was so embarrassed because why would I do that? But I think we’ve lived for so long, for generations, especially as an Asian American, to see women portrayed in a weak way.”
Li also knew going in that Grace would take some heat — she is the one who invites the vampires inside the juke joint after they threaten her daughter. Referring to it as “a morally questionable and controversial decision,” Li says she discussed it at length with Coogler. “I said, ‘Why is it that she has not considered anyone else’s lives before doing what she does?’ And he simply answered, ‘Because she’s a mother.’ There was no other explanation to it.” Coogler did add some dialogue where Grace argues with Smoke for not wanting to fight and to just wait out through the night. “That scene didn’t exist initially,” she notes. “And I talked to Ryan and said, ‘We need something there because she has very little to show for herself, and when she invites them in, she is going to be absolutely hated. I think we need to remind people a little bit about the context.”
It’s that ability to listen and collaborate that also sets Coogler apart. For that, Mosaku credits not only the filmmaker, but the females who made him. “Ryan Coogler loves the women in his life, the people who have made him who he is, who have instilled their beliefs, their politics, their opinions, their point of view, their grief, their love,” she says. “He listens to people, and he respects everyone. So it’s no surprise that everyone felt well fed with their characters.”
Happy Family
So it’s not surprising to hear that despite some perilous subject matter and challenging weather, the set was a place of pure joy.
“When we say we love each other, we’re not bullshitting,” Mosaku enthuses. “We love each other. We play games, we tell stories, we met each other’s families. We were completely entwined and connected.” So much so that, according to Steinfeld, people would sometimes even show up on days they weren’t called.
Also integral to their bonding experience were the nights spent shooting inside the juke joint. “That brought us close, very, very quickly,” Steinfeld adds. “That juke joint became our home. When the days are long and you’re away from your family and it’s very isolating, unless you create one with who you’re with. And you really get to know someone at three in the morning.”
But families don’t always get along and surely tensions could run high? Apparently only during some of the games. Competition would get fierce during rounds of Bananagrams, Uno and Spades. “Jayme is the game-night warrior!” Li declares. “She always won, and Miles, in particular, was very suspicious. I don’t know if she cheated. I think she’s just really smart.”
Mosaku adds that Lawson was ruthless. “Jayme wouldn’t take it easy. Even if you were new to the game, she’d be like, ‘Well, you lost. That’s it.” To which Lawson can only reply: “Life is hard, how else are you going to learn?”
Knowing it was a rare and special experience, it’s with some melancholy that the actors reflect on their time on “Sinners.” Says Mosaku, “It makes me so sad we’ll never get to all be together in those roles again.” Lawson mentions the idea of a “Sinners’ Cinematic Universe” she read about online where fans speculated on different timelines for some of the characters. While anything is possible, the actors are making the most with the memories and with celebrating the success of the film.
“These are my sisters,” Lawson says. “In addition to getting these amazing roles, we got the opportunity to create a new sisterhood. That’s hard to come by. So I’m going to hold onto this for as long as I can and carry it as much as I can, for sure.”
