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Who would have imagined that one day Jacques Audiard, a French director known for his slow-burn, humanistic character studies would attempt the period American drama of the Western genre with his English language debut. Far removed from his social realist films ‘Dheepan’ and ‘Rust and Bone’ Audiard’s ‘The Sisters Brothers’ has the same type of observational sensitivity focused on brotherhood. Audiard and Thomas Bidegain adapted this tale into a sweet form from Patrick de Witt’s 2011 novel ‘The Sisters Brothers’ which is filled with graphic body horrors that at times cross into a sick, childlike humor and a high body count. This alcohol soaked journey across the Frontier is a constantly changing, witty and fun road trip story that in the end is quite touching. Whether you call it a revisionist or absurdist Western, Audiard’s film feels oddly new without any of the extremes the Zellner Brothers did with Damsel and so is refreshingly nostalgic.
The setting a backdrop where the like of gold miners once operated, which helped ease the Sheriff greatly because if there ever was any commotion, you could always trace it back to the gold to wherever the gold was mined. However, upon meeting Eli, (John C. Reilly, who is as goofy, soulful, and a master of physical comedy as always) and Charlie, (Joaquin Phoenix, enigmatic as ever) the central brothers, one ominous scene at the start of the film suggests that there is no fortune to be chased after. With the equally whimsical last name ‘Sisters’ given to the duo of ruthless assassins, thoughtlessly take out a household of people in an incredibly choreographed series of gunfire during the night. The motive is unknown, and neither do they care: this job and every other one is done by a ruthless duo who answer to a feared and mostly unseen crime lord, ‘The Commodore’ and lethally shred their way through Oregon in the 1850s. While doing so, they casually kill, trivial, and bicker about a mundane day.
Just as the mild-mannered Eli starts thinking about his career and life, while the heavy drinker Charlie remains apathetic, The Commodore interrupts them with a new assignment. The assignment involves tailing and killing Hermann Kemit Warm (Riz Ahmed, cheekily mysterious), a criminal that will turn out to have deeper motives. For now, he is merely a traitorous thief that once served as a bane to their boss. This is Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal, making Ahmed’s reuniting after “Nighcrawler” that much more valuable), a British-accented hitman on the other side of the pond who is given the job of capturing Warm for the brothers. But almost instantly makes life financially favorable for most involved. His groundbreaking chemistry alters the newly established golden standard and prioritizes everything else. The two pairs, who were previously on similar story arcs for a short time (which makes this part of the movie somewhat dull compared to all previous moments of suspense), end up caught in a web of interlocking conspiracies. In the process, local madams, well-meaning prostitutes, further the humorus unintended outcomes of this mess and some unfortunate dead horses make their way into the story, improving the film’s originality and crafting an studied tribute to its genre.
Much of the breezy charm of “The Sisters Brothers” comes from John C. Reilly who expertly balances comedy and tragedy as he brings to life the most meaty and multifaceted character in the ensemble. With Phoenix stepping into the quieter shoes of Charlie, he feels right at home. Gyllenhaal’s familiar on-edge persona is impressive alongside a mischievous turn from Ahmed. There is tremendous chemistry between Reilly and Phoenix throughout the film which is sold by their longtime friendship and as the script drip feeds the brothers’ back-story. In this bittersweet tale with a sentimental heart and blood, greed, and spiders, Audiard lifts familial emotions with his characteristically sensitive touch, letting them linger in the air long after the credits roll.
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