TIFF18 Review “The Sisters Brothers”

The year is 1851 and The Sisters Brothers are the biggest guns for hire in the wild west. Older brother Eli (John C Reilly) just wants to get out the assassin game and open up a quiet, little general store. Meanwhile, younger brother Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix) can’t even fathom ever stepping away from the business.Together the two are on what could be their final job, looking for a brilliant chemist named Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed). Warm has developed an elixir that when poured over rocks will show any gold lies within. Eli and Charlie’s boss, The Commodore, is desperately wanting the formula and have sent the brothers to acquire it by any means necessary. The Commodore has also sent another ‘helper’ to bring in Warm in the form of lawman John Morris (Jake Gyllehaal). Will the brothers succeed in getting their man or will they go down in a blaze of glory?

The highlight of the film is definitely the chemistry between the actors. John C Reilly has a great rapport with Phoenix. Reilly plays his role well as the level headed one who just wants to be a good guy, while Phoenix is an absolute hoot as the heavy drinking, hot-headed bandit, who’s always quick to pick a fight even with his own brother.

Also having amazing chemistry with one another are Ahmed and Gyllenhaal, who rejoin each other on-screen after both turning in amazing performances in 2014’s Nightcrawler. Their characters initially bond when Gyllenhaal’s Morris offers Warm safe passage out of the west. However the characters continue to bond even when Morris’ treacherous behavior is discovered.

Additionally, the cinematography for the film is stunning. The scenes depicting the western frontier are absolutely beautiful, filled with rich colors. The film marks the English language debut of French auteur Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone), and helped earn him the Silver Lion award at this year’s Venice Film Festival for Best Director.

It’s also worth pointing out that The Sisters Brothers is based on the 2011 novel by Canadian author Patrick DeWitt. The rights to the book were bought by Reilly’s production company as he was a huge fan and wanted to help adapt it for the big screen. It was also a part of the Tiff 2018 film selections! Always nice to see love for Canadian content!