Filmed in New Orleans over roughly three months in 2024, “Sinners” features multiple locations from a small church to a bustling downtown but a large juke joint is the film’s dramatic centerpiece. As twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan at his most versatile) deal with repercussions beyond their control, the juke joint becomes a haven for education, pleasure and terror.
“First and foremost, it was about doing a lot of real research, understanding the time period and learning what the economy and the region was like in the Mississippi Delta, and really understanding the vernacular and intricate beauty of sawmills,” said Beachler, 54. “We built the juke joint on location and on a stage as well and since all of the characters are in the juke joint, I wanted to be able to represent all of them in some way. And Ryan and I also talked about various needs in the blocking of the scenes, particularly what needed to be designed inside the juke joint.
“We needed a back room, a kitchen, a room for gambling, a stage and an entrance. I also wanted the juke joint to have two floors. And in my research, I wanted to be able to incorporate real elements into the sawmill and show how Smoke and Stack would be able to flip that into a juke joint,” she said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Inspired in this instance by production designers on such films as “Crooklyn,” “Big Fish” and “The King’s Speech” as well as directors such as the Coen brothers and Wes Craven, Beachler also praised one of the film’s most memorable sequences which occurs in the juke joint and incorporates blues singer/guitarist Sammie (Miles Caton in a breakthrough performance). In a beautifully whimsical moment, generations of Black music culture are showcased from blues to African dance to hip-hop.
“Blues comes from a very specific place — it comes from Africa, it comes from our ancestors,” Beachler said. “Blues is the vocalization of struggle, pain, joy, love, loss, grief and being raucous. Sammie had the ability to break the veil between time periods, which becomes very Afrofuturistic in the sense that time is cyclical. This is a beautiful film that tells you about the history of music and speaks to the brilliance of Ryan Coogler.”
‘As real as possible’
In 2013, Coogler made his acclaimed directorial debut with “Fruitvale Station,” a gripping drama starring the aforementioned Jordan based on the true story of Oscar Grant III. Beachler provided production design for the film and also joined Coogler for “Creed” as well as “Black Panther” (making her the first African American to win an Academy Award for best production design) and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Credit: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
Credit: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
While working on “Sinners”, Beachler said she enjoyed the genre-bending component at its core, which goes beyond horror to tap into humanity and themes of family.
“We weren’t looking at it as specifically a horror film or whichever genre — we were just serious about making this life story, this world, as real as possible,” she said. “And for me, the fantasy comes in when structures and shapes are added to the sets that have all kinds of meaning, that create mood and feeling for the characters that and the actors portraying them in this realm we’ve created. We also talked about the disparities in the film.
“Technically, sharecropping is just a different form of slavery. We wanted to show what that time was like but also ask who would the people in story have been if they had lived today? I also approached my designs in that way,” she said.
The New Orleans-based Beachler’s credits include “Miles Ahead,” “Dark Waters,” “No Sudden Move,” and the 2016 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning best picture “Moonlight.” She also received an Emmy nomination for Beyonce’s visual album “Lemonade.”
In addition she made her Broadway debut last season designing an Afrofuturistic spin on Dayton native Schele Williams’ rousing revival of “The Wiz,” which proudly reclaims its Black identity and will be on tour this fall with a stop in Dayton at the Schuster Center in November.
She’s currently in Cape Town, South Africa working on “Children of Blood and Bone” directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love & Basketball,” “The Woman King”) with a slated release of January 2027.
‘An original film people are dying for’
Referring to Coogler as an auteur, which is typically defined as an artist with a distinctive approach or unique stamp, Beachler particularly admires his gift of commentary, which in the case of “Sinners” contains a multi-generational appeal. The film, released April 17, has made more than $120 million in North America and more than $160 million globally.
“No matter what type of film or genre, Ryan can make commentary on circumstances of the characters and time period and state of the world at the time while still being entertaining,” she said. “You don’t have to think about the commentary. You can simply go and be entertained. But if you wish to go deeper, you can. And if you can service both audiences while making an original film people are dying for, a story that is new and fresh, that’s important,” she said.
“There’s something to be said about allowing people to decide where they want to be in a movie.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
HOW TO WATCH
“Sinners” is playing locally at all Cinemark locations as well as Regal Fairfield Commons, Cinépolis Dayton and The Neon.
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