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Loose, funny and near-surreal western

GRAEME TUCKETT

I read The Sisters Brothers

10 years ago and thought then that it would make a great movie. Actor John C Reilly went further. He optioned the novel before he had even finished reading. And then spent years assembling the money and people to finally bring Patrick deWitt’s rollicking western to life in 2018.

The story follows two men, Charlie and Eli Sisters, through the towns of the 1850s

American Midwest, as they track a man their mysterious employer – The Commodore – wants dead.

Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix star as the brothers, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed as their quarry and the man who is aiding him. Rutger Hauer, in his final performance before his death in July 2019, plays The Commodore.

The Sisters Brothers (available to rent from iTunes, Google Play, AroVision and Academy OnDemand) is a loose, funny, thoughtful and near-surreal western.

But despite that fantastic central quartet and positive reviews, The Sisters Brothers failed at the box office. Maybe the people who would have appreciated its droll style weren’t

the audience who thought they might enjoy a western, while the potential western crowd were perhaps put off by the film’s arthouse trappings. Whatever the reason, the failure shouldn’t dim your appreciation for director Jacques Audiard.

Audiard has been making absolutely terrific films for decades now. His The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Google Play) is a beautifully off-beat drama featuring a Parisian tough guy who may have the talent to be a concert pianist. It sounds outlandish, but Audiard and star Romain Duris make it work.

Audiard followed up in 2010 with the even better A Prophet (iTunes), which is as good a prison drama as has ever been made. A Prophet stars Tahar Rahim (Netflix’s The Serpent )as an Algerian petty thief in a

French prison, working both sides as he is trapped in a deadly turf war between the Corsican and Muslim gangs who battle to control the facility. A Prophet is as brutal as it is believable. This is a stunning film.

In 2012 Audiard released Rust and Bone (iTunes, Google Play), following the uneasy but triumphant relationship between a young fighter – Matthias Schoenaerts (Red Sparrow) and Marion Cotillard, who trains killer whales at a marine park. Again, this is a literate and warmblooded film that still works as a thriller and an examination of violence. Hugely recommended.

Audiard won the Palme d’Or – finally – for his 2015 film

Dheepan (now available to stream on Mubi), which I think I’m going to watch tonight.

Jacques Audiard is a consistently brilliant and adaptable film-maker. Assemble your own mini-festival – and enjoy.

SOUND AND VISION

en-nz

2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

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