THE SISTERS BROTHERS

France, 2018, 122 minutes, Colour.
John C.Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gylenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rebecca Root, Alison Tolman, Rutger Hauer, Carol Kane.
Directed by Jacques Audiard.

This is a Western with a difference – and not just only in the ambiguously arresting title! The central characters are brothers, but the family name happens to be Sisters.

French director, Jacques Audiard, who has made some striking films, The Beat My Heart Skipped, the prison drama, The Prophet, and Rust and Bone, travels to the American West, an adaptation of a novel by Patrick De Witt.

Audiard seems to have something of a mythological view of the West by the landscapes, the gunslingers, the prospectors, the makeshift towns, but is also looking at it with realistic eyes and camera, especially the violence and the lawlessness.

The setting is Oregon in the early 1850s, the era of the gold rushes.

And, who are the Sisters Brothers? The older is Eli, played in his solid even if familiar way, by John C. Reilly. The younger brother is Charlie, erratic in his attitudes and behaviour, another such role by Joaquin Phoenix. They have resented their father and are under the employ of the self-styled Commodore, Rutger Hauer, a man of power, thug associates and sending the Brothers out on ‘missions’. The audience sees, right before the credits, the violence in action, darkness, the fire of smoking guns, brutal deaths.

Quite a lot of the film concerns the interactions between the two brothers. Eli has a sense of responsibility, is protective of his younger brother, even if exasperated by much of his behaviour, especially his drinking, his love for violence and shooting. They travel the west on their missions, stopping in towns, Charlie getting drunk and spending the nights with prostitutes, Eli more romantic and sentimental, wanting to relive an episode where a woman he loved gave him the gift of a shawl.

But, they also cause quite a lot of mayhem, especially in a town called Mayfield, called after the tough woman who established it – and their partly destroy her and the town.

The central mission concerns an associate, John Morris, played by Jake Gylenhaal. He is also on a mission from the Commodore, tracking down a man who is not only a gold prospector but who has developed a formula whereby a liquid poured into the river will make the gold shine out and be easily picked up. He is played by Riz Ahmed – a more sympathetic character, caught up in his invention and eager to test it, befriending John Morris after initial enmity, and with the dream of going to a community in Texas which believes in justice and peace.

The Brothers, of course, do find Morris and the inventor – but, the screenplay takes some different turns from what we might have expected, making it all the more interesting. These turns naturally involve quite an amount of violence, more deaths, some confrontations – but an unexpected ending and the introduction of the Brothers’ Mother (a chance to see veteran actress, Carol Kane).

The director won the Silver Lion in Venice, 2018. The film had nominations and wins in the annual French awards, the Cesars and the Lumieres.

So, this is how a Frenchman interprets the West.

1. The title, the tone, playful and ironic?

2. The Oregon settings, the middle of the 19th century, the American West coast, the world of the gunfighters, prospectus, towns, the countryside, the rivers and gold? The musical score?

3. A French director, his perspective? Picture of the West?

4. The introduction, the location, the shootouts? The introduction to the two brothers, the shooting and they’re being merciless?

5. , Older, thoughtful, taking responsibility? Charlie, younger, shooting, drinking, irresponsible?

6. The Commodore, his control, plans, missions? The formula for the prospecting? The range of shooters and the Commodores entourage, loyalty? Charlie taking on the mission? The widespread influence of the Commodore, eventually Charlie wanting to take over, arrival back, the Commodore dead, you like punching him to make sure?

7. The mission, the explanation, the formula, Warm and the Commodore wanting it? John Morris, working for the Commodore, his writing down his story, his mission? Seeking out Warm? Finding him, their talk, tying each other up, the bonding and friendship, prospecting, the vision of the equal society in Texas?

8. The brothers, their quest, in Mayfield, the search? Mayfield herself, the town, influence? The drinking, the dancing? The buildup to the confrontation, questions, Mayfield the death, their leaving the town? Charlie and the women Western Mark

9. the prostitute and wanting her to re-enact the episode with the shawl? Her warnings?

10. Continuing to travel, the bonds between the two, memories of their father and his death, the quarrels,

11. upset, Charlie and his drinking punching his brother?

12. Finding Morris and Warm, the confrontation, the reactions? The horses and the travel? The river, camping?

13. Settling down to prospect for gold, Charlie and his change, more human, talking, enquiry about Texas?

14. The gold?

15. John and warm, the test, Charlie and his reaction, the formula, the schooling, John Morrison the injuries, his death?

16. , His death?

17. The return, going to the Commodore, finding him dead?

18. The desire to go home, the memories of their father and the story, meeting their mother, settling down?