The Sisters Brothers

I really enjoyed this film, it combined a variety of western aspects such as the generic shootouts, the gold rush, bounty hunting, experimenting with new science and of course friendship/family, overall I felt it successfully achieved this blend in an interesting and occasionally emotional story. I can see why others may have not clicked with this film as it is definitely character and performance driven, rather than having a story that compelled you throughout. The choice of actors was amazing, whilst they have all achieved much higher performances individually, especially Phoenix and Gyllenhaal, they were still fantastic together and had their moments to shine.

The Sisters Brothers is a superb narrative driven western that doesn't hold back on it's true colors. John C Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix star as an incredible dynamic brother duo, working as assassins chasing Riz Ahmed along with Jake Gyllenhaal, a pair recent pair from Nightcrawler (2014). With outstanding performances all around, the actors create a terrific sense of realism in the relationships between characters, John C Reilly stands out, as he delivers one of his most outstanding serious and heartfelt performances yet. The film takes it times establishing itself as a true but unique western with charm and intensity, but the film hits it's prime in the third act delivering brutal and vigorous scenes. The score fits perfectly into the vibe and tone and elevates scenes to higher and more emotionally gripping spectacle. The cinematography is also notable, with exception use of gun flashes in the dark, and alluring composition. As an entirety, the film is extremely compelling and is one of the best westerns in the past decade.

Not my wife's kind of movie, I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. All-in-all I don't find it to be a very good movie but it is well made and accomplishes its purposes very well.

Naming the two main characters the "Sisters Brothers" hints at the healthy dose of absurdity in this movie. The brothers are traveling gunfighters, paid to kill certain people. They take jobs for pay and systematically hunt down their targets. This slice of their story is set in Oregon and Northern California although all filming was done in Europe.

John C. Reilly is Eli Sisters, the more sensible and thoughtful one, at some point wondering if they should retire and take their money to start a business, maybe run a store. Joaquin Phoenix is Charlie Sisters, the younger and more impetuous of the two, he scoffs at Eli's thoughts.

They are hired to hunt down a man who has not repaid a debt, they end up at odds with Jake Gyllenhaal as John Morris and Riz Ahmed as Hermann Kermit Warm who has developed a chemical that, when poured into a river or stream, will make the gold shine brightly, and easy to harvest.

The story gets a bit convoluted, there are a number of brutal, point-blank killings. I can't say the movie itself came to an entirely satisfying end but for the most part it was entertaining. The actors are very good in their roles.

A surprising and beautiful combination of classic western themes with French twist. Profound. I started out feeling disinterested by the predictable characters and ended with tears and a smile. Stick with it; a truly great film.

This movie is by all means different of the others westerns movies you could have seen. It is funny by moments, rough by moments, calm maybe too calm sometimes. But the story is great and entertaining, and the actors are just a perfect fit. Cinematography is also great and it made us feels like we are with them!