Based on the novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, the Sisters Brothers isn’t the typical western. Directed by Jacques Audiard, his keen eye for unexpected tender moments amid a trail of blood and money, makes the story and characters more humane than the standard hired guns.
Eli and Charlie Sisters are hitmen who work for their wealthy proprietor, the Commodore. When they are sent after Hermann’s Warm, a prospector who is accused of stealing a formula, the job turns into more than they bargained for.
A late edition to the JOURNEY strand of the festival, among the person and literal journeys taken by characters, ‘The Sisters Brothers’ although an actual journey from Oregon to California in the old west, the brothers, Eli and Charlie, go on an emotional journey of their own. While Eli wants this to be their last job for their boss, the infamous Commodore, and Charlie is very happy to continue ‘doing what they were made for’, they each travel a different path. Eli believes he is still a good man who is only there to protect his younger violent, often drunk brother. Charlie believes that its in their blood to be killers, so may as well get paid to do it. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix complement each other. Both brilliant actors, Phoenix is the master craftsman able to play out a display of emotions with a slight change of expression and Reilly, underrated, his filmography muddied with mediocre frat pack comedies so much that his better roles are buried.
The events of the past weigh heavy on Eli whereas Charlie has chosen the bottle, possibles to numb any feeling at all. The brothers have a few emotional moments but none as affecting as the other duo in the story. Warm and John Morris meet while the latter is meant to be keeping him for the Sisters brothers, the two form a friendship on the road and share a passion for a better world. Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal unexpectedly become the heart of the film, while the brothers are the muscle. As secondary characters they don’t have as much screen time, but after a tragic incident, there are hints at their deep friendship their a painful few words.
Going against the what is expected of a western, the brothers’ journey takes a turn in an undramatic way, continuing on to the end where a short but sweet cameo from Carol Kane wraps up the story. There is a feeling that you don’t have to go ‘big’, you can just go home and this too makes for a satisfying ending. Audiard’s film isn’t about greed, despite gold being an incentive, its not about killing people, although the brothers’ history of violence makes them behave in different ways, its not just about brothers and unexpected friendships, it doesn’t even go downhill when the fateful words ‘our last job’ are uttered. ‘The Sisters Brothers’ is a difficult tone to pin down so perhaps it is all about the journey than the destination and who’s with you through it all.