Review: The Sisters Brothers

Image courtesy of Annapurna Pictures.

Jacques Audiard foregoes heavy French dramas about damaged souls and criminals to make his English language debut with a revisionist western - "The Sisters Brothers" - that often leads you to believe it is venturing into comedic territory, only to veer into the darkness time and time again.

The film follows two narratives set in Oregon in the 1800s that eventually converge. In the first, the occasionally goofy and often violent titular duo - Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix, the violent, hard drinking brother) and Eli (John C. Reilly, the somewhat less violent and slightly more conscientious brother), both of whose last name is Sister - appear to be tracking someone amid the Gold Rush.

Elsewhere, a a fine-spoken man named Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) befriends a prospector named Hermann Kemit Warm (Riz Ahmed), who has created a substance that illuminates gold in water. At first, the Sisters brothers want to kill Morris, whom they believe has betrayed them, but upon meeting up with him and Warm, they find the prospect of digging up gold more intriguing.

Audiard's film takes a while to get going. Its first half is a little sluggish and the repartee between Charlie and Eli borders is frequently comedic, often feeling as if it should be in another film other than the brutal, bloody one in which it exists. At one point, the duo shack up in a brothel, of sorts, and it is from there that the picture finds its feet.

While Phoenix does a solid job of portraying the loose cannon Charlie, it is Reilly who is the strongest presence in the film. There's a scene late in the movie in which he tells Warm, who has become an unlikely friend, of how he entered into a life of crime by making a sacrifice, of sorts. Reilly, who often plays more clownish characters, provides some of his most subtle dramatic work here since his sobering turn in "Magnolia."

While "The Sisters Brothers" doesn't rank with Audiard's best - such as "A Prophet" or "Dheepan" - it is an engaging western that starts from a place of humor, becomes increasingly brooding and violent and ends on a strangely poignant note. But mostly, it's a great showcase for its cast. The film might not carry the thematic weight of a revisionist western classic, such as "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," but it's a fun way to spend a few hours with some great actors.